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ELLATVORE   SCOTT, 
32     VANIJEVENTER     Pl"> 
ST.   LOUIS,    »IO. 


Frontispiece. 


THE 

Stoey  of  the  German  Iliad. 

Qi  Sfljool  IXcabcv 

Foil  THE 

SIXTH    AND     SEVENTH     GRADES. 

BY 

MARY  E.  BUET, 

Member  of  the  Chicago  Board  op  Education  ; 

Author  of   "Literary   Landmarks,"    "Browning's   Women," 

"The  World's  Literature,"  etc.,  etc. 


NEW  YORK: 

Maynaed,   Merrill,   &  Co., 

43,  45  AND  47  East  Tenth  Street. 
1895. 


Copyrighted,  1893, 

BY 

EFFINGHAM    MAYNARD  &  CO. 


LIBRAKY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


To  THE  Memory  of 

The  First  Woman  who  ever  served  on 

The  Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

AND  to 

The  Men  associated  with  her, 

Those  Members  of  the  Board, 

Who  showed  her  so  much  Deference 

AND 

Brotherly  Kindness, 

this  little  volvsie  is  inscribed. 


INTRODUCTIOK 


HE  story  of  the  'Horned  Sieg- 
fried/*'  says  Carlyle,  "is  a 
real  cliild's-book  and  peo- 
ple's-book  among  the  Ger- 
mans," and  he  commends 
the  zeal  with  which  "  learned 
professors  lecture  on  the 
Nibelungen  in  public  schools 
with  a  praiseworthy  view  to 
initiate  the  German  youtli 
into  a  love  for  their  father- 
land." 

If  "  Literature  is  the  autobiography  of  mankind," 
and  sympathy  with  mankind  is  real  patriotism,  and  if 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  "the  embodiment  of  German 
and  hence  English  spirit,"  then  it  is  truly  patriotic 
for  German  youths  in  America,  and  American  youths 
everywhere,  to  acquaint  themselves  with  their  Teu- 
tonic legacy,  the  story  which  affords  glimpses  of  the 

5 


G  INTRODUCTION. 

manners  and  customs  of  tlieir  Saxon  forefathers. 
It  is  almost  as  un-American  for  the  chihlren  of  the 
United  States  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  their 
German  birthright  as  it  would  he  unpatriotic  for  a 
German  to  deny  the  value  of  the  interpretation  of 
German  character  as  found  in  the  "  Northern  Iliad/' 

"  The  Nibelungen,"  says  Carlyle,  "  is  welcomed  as  a 
precious  national  possession,  recovered  after  six  cen- 
turies of  neglect,  and  takes  undisputed  place  among 
the  sacred  hooks  of  German  literature;  .  .  .  and  to 
look  with  natural  eyes  on  that  part  of  it  wliieli 
stands  visibly  above  ground  and  record  his  own  ex- 
periences thereof  is  what  any  reasonable  mortal  can 
do  if  he  will  take  heed.  It  belongs  to  the  English 
Teutons  as  well  as  to  the  Germans.  It  is  a  firm 
sunny  island  amid  chaos,  worth  visiting.** 

That  Carlyle  shows  true  teacherly  instinct  in  plac- 
ing the  Nibelungen  as  a  "  real  child's-book,"  no  one 
can  doubt  who  has  made  a  deep  and  careful  study  of 
the  natural  development  of  child-mind.  The  child 
is  only  the  primitive  man  with  all  the  development 
before  him  which  the  human  race  has  experienced. 
"  In  poetry  primitive  man  requires  only  to  see  ;  man 
of  more  development  wishes  to  feel;  truly  enlight- 
ened man  desires  to  reflect.**  As  in  nations  so  in 
children, — in  the  first  stages  of  mental  development 
we  see  them  possessed  of  a  rude  eagerness  for  that 
which  is  full  of  natural  force,  for  the  stories  that  are 
simple  and  unmotived,  for  the  poetry  which  is  essen- 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

tially  epic.  It  is  through  such  reading  that  they 
bridge  over  from  their  myth-making  stage  into  the 
period  when  their  habits  of  thought  have  become 
scientific.  Through  the  Nibelungen  Lied  may  young 
people  see  their  early  Teutonic  ancestors  rise  "like 
phoenix  and  the  eagle  out  of  the  ashes,  renevi^ed  with 
fresh  life."  Although  not  real  "  history/^  the  Nibe- 
lungen  is  the  truest  history,  since  it  has  always  been 
a  rallying-point  of  Northern  patriotic  feeling,  and  it 
can  hardly  fail  to  awaken  an  enthusiasm  in  the  later 
and  more  realistic  history  of  the  nation  whose  child- 
hood is  so  delightfully  revealed  in  its  pages. 

In  the  year  1757  the  Swiss  Professor  Bodmer 
printed  an  ancient  poetical  manuscript  under  the 
title  of  "  Chriemhilda's  Revenge  and  the  Lament," 
and  fifteen  years  later  C.  H.  Miiller  reprinted  from 
Bodmer  the  Nibelungen  Lied  as  it  now  stands.  Many 
other  early  German  poems,  all  of  the  German  Heroic 
Age,  came  to  light  soon  after,  but  none  of  them  so 
fraught  with  meaning  and  interest.  It  was  compiled, 
however,  many  years  before  it  was  printed,  sung  long 
before  it  was  compiled,  and  believed  long  before  it 
took  definite  form  in  song.  Many  of  the  most  schol- 
arly men  who  have  given  great  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject agree  that  it  is  altogether  plausible  to  believe 
that  it  embodies  the  earliest  thoughts  of  men.  That 
at  first  a  religious  or  philosophical  myth,  in  later 
years  it  incorporated  itself  with  vague  traditions  of 
real  events,  and  was  modified  by  Christian  influences 


8  INTROD  VCTION. 

until  it  passed  from  the  mythological  into  historic 
shape. 

In  1130  Saxo  Grammaticus  was  sent  to  Seeland 
with  a  treacherous  invitation  from  one  Danish  prince 
to  another,  and  being  in  sympathy  with  the  prince 
whom  the  invitation  was  intended  to  destroy,  and  not 
daring  to  break  his  promise  and  betray  the  sender,  he 
sang  as  an  indirect  warning  that  part  of  the  Lied  in 
which  Cbriemhilda  betrays  her  brother.  This  is 
direct  evidence  that  the  poem  was  in  a  crystallized 
form  at  that  date.  That  it  contains  characters  known 
in  the  history  of  tlie  fifth  century  is  evidence  that  it 
does  not  belong  in  its  present  poetic  form  to  any 
earlier  date.  It  is  probable  that  it  belongs  to  the 
sixth  century.  The  historic  personages  in  it  are 
Attila,  or  Etzel;  Helka,  or  Erca,  his  wife;  and 
Dietrich. 

"In  the  year  453,"  says  Auber  Forestier  in  her 
Echoes  fro'iii  Mist-Land,  "Attila,  King  of  the  Iluns, 
called  the  Scourge  of  God,  died  suddenly  on  the 
night  of  his  marriage  with  the  fair  Ildiko,  the  Ostro- 
goths being  shortly  thereafter  freed  from  the  Hunnish 
yoke.  These  events  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
people  of  South  Germany,  and  busy  tradition,  ever 
on  the  alert  for  poetic  justice,  attributing  Attila's 
death  to  his  bride,  assumed  the  murderous  deed  to 
have  been  wrought  by  her  to  avenge  the  destruction 
of  the  Burgundians,  although  it  was  historically 
untrue  that  thev  fell  through  Attila.     Then  following 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


its  tendency  to  combine  mjiliic  and  real  personages 
and  facts,  traditions  blended  these  new  materials  with 


[lTMi}(f{H|tIipl!i||l|l|Jll» 


I 


previonsly  existing  stories,  and  thus  was 
created  the  character  of  King  Etzel,  who 
will  be  seen  to  play  a  comparatively 
tame  part,  merely  the  fruits  of  his  past 
deeds  of  greatness  being  visible,"  Die- 
trich of  Bern  is  identified  with  Theodoric  the  Great. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

The  story  of  Siegfried  is  considered  pui-e  myth, 
"  little  room  being  left  for  doubt  tluit  it  is  the  story 
of  the  Greek  Theseus  in  another  dress;  u  repetition 
of  that  great  drama  of  the  Greek  mythology  which 
begins  with  the  loss  of  the  golden  fleece,  and  ends 
with  the  return  of  Herakles."  In  the  second  chap- 
ter is  introduced  a  part  of  Tennyson's  poem  The 
Pay-dream,  that  the  continuity  of  the  story  may  not 
be  broken  as  seems  to  be  the  case  in  Lachman's 
version.  Otherwise  tlie  translation  by  Jonathan 
Birch  from  Lachman's  comjjilation  has  been  followed, 
keeping  as  close  to  the  original  text  and  style  as 
possible,  paraphrasing  except  where  the  quaint  verses 
seemed  simple  enough  to  commend  themselves  more 
incisively  than  a  paraphrase  could  do  to  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  youthful  reader. 

M.  E.  B. 

Chicago,  1891. 


THE  STOEY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE    RHINE-GOLD. 


RESIDE  a  waterfall  an  otter 
lay,  devouring  a  salmon, 
when  the  benignant  Odin, 
the  malevolent  Loki,  and 
the  gladsome  Honir  passed 
that  way.  Loki,  the  mis- 
chief-loving god,  threw  a 
stone  at  the  harmless  crea- 
ture and  killed  it,  boasting 
of  his  deed.  They  stripped 
the  otter  of  its  skin,  and 
taking  it  with  them,  sought  shelter  in  the  house  of 
Rodmar  who  dwelt  in  the  valley  hard  by.  Recog- 
nizing the  skin  as  that  of  his  son  Otter,  who  some- 
times in  sport  took  the  form  of  the  furry  beast,  Rod- 
mar  seized  the  three  gods  and  bound  them  hand  and 

11 


12        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

foot,  demanding  as  mucli  gold  as  was  necessary  to 
cover  the  otter-skin,  for  tlieir  ransom.  The  three 
gods  cast  lots  among  tlieniselves  to  see  wliich  one  of 
their  nnmber  shoukl  be  released  long  enough  to  bring 
the  required  treasure,  and  the  lot  falling  on  Loki,  the 
mischievous  sprite  sped  with  all  haste  to  the  ocean 
queen,  whom  he  bribed  to  lend  him  her  net  of  en- 
chantment in  which  she  was  wont  to  seize  the  unwary 
seamen.  In  this  net  Loki  caught  the  dwarf  Andvari 
in  the  shape  of  a  pike,  and  threatening  to  take  his 
life,  compelled  him  to  redeem  himself  by  making  sur- 
render of  the  great  hoard  of  gold  and  precious  stones 
which  the  dwarfs  had  from  time  immemorial  secreted 
in  mountain  caverns  near  the  source  of  the  Rhine. 

But  the  vast  treasures  of  gold  and  jewels  were  not 
sufficient  to  cover  the  skin  of  the  otter,  which  had 
lengthened  and  widened  until  it  covered  acres  of 
space.  One  hair  remained  visible,  whereupon  Loki 
forced  from  the  dwarf  a  gold-breeding  ring  in  the 
form  of  a  coiled  serpent.  AYith  this  ring  the  last 
hair  of  the  otter-skin  was  hidden  from  sight,  and  the 
three  gods  took  their  dej)arture.  Rodmar  looked 
upon  the  vast  wealth,  so  suddenly  acquired,  with 
great  satisfaction,  and  began  to  scheme  for  its  safe- 
keeping, not  knowing  that  a  curse  had  been  left  with 
it  by  the  dwarf,  a  curse  which  must  follow  it  to  the 
last.  His  two  sons,  Fafnir  and  Regin,  besought  their 
father  to  divide  the  wealth  into  three  shares,  each 
to  take  an  equal  portion;  but  forgetting  the  father 


THE  RHINEGOLD.  13 

in  the  miser,  Rodinur  sat  down  to  gaze  upon  tliis 
gold,  and  as  he  looked  into  the  glittering  eyes  of  the 
serpent-ring,  he  became  himself  a  serpent  whose  huge 
folds  coiled  about  and  protected  the  treasure.  Re- 
turning from  his  work  in  the  fields,  Fafnir  saw  the 
great  snake  coiled  about  the  gold,  and  slaying  the 
monster,  took  possession  of  the  hoard,  and  guarded  it 
on  Glistenheath,  himself  having  become  a  dragon. 
Eegin,  indignant  that  his  brother  had  robbed  him 
of  his  share,  called  Siegfried  to  his  aid,  and  for  him 
made  the  sword  Gram,  the  sword  whose  sure  edge 
was  so  keen  that  it  could  with  eqnal  ease  cut  the 
lightest  down  as  well  as  the  flinty  rock.  To  Glisten- 
heath  went  Eegin  accompanied  by  Siegfried,  who 
killed  the  dragon;  and  being  warned  by  Odin's  birds 
that  Eegin  cherished  treacherous  intentions  toward 
himself,  Siegfried  slew  Eegin  also,  and  rode  away 
with  the  hoard  and  its  curse. 


14        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CHAPTER  11. 


SIEGFRIED   MEETS  THE   SLEEPING   BEAUTY. 


T^ 


'alhalla  is  one  of  the  lialls  in 
Odin's  bright  home  at  Glads- 
heim.  It  is  so  large  that  all  the 
armies  in  the  world  might  move 
within  it.  It  is  covered  outside 
with  gold  and  with  shields,  and 
is  as  bright  as  the  sun.  An 
eagle  hovers  over  it,  and  a  fierce 
wolf  stands  before  it  as  guard_ 
Inside,  everything  glitters  like 
polished  silver.  The  rafters  are  made  of  spears,  the 
ceilings  covered  with  shields,  the  walls  adorned  with 
war-gear.  Here  Odin  daily  holds  a  feast  for  all 
the  heroes  who  have  ever  been  slain  in  battle.  They 
are  attended  by  Odin's  servants  who  have  prepared 
for  them  the  heavenly  food,  and  they  drink  of  the 
celestial  mead  brought  by  Odin's  handmaids,  the  Val- 
kyries. These  handmaids  hover  over  the  battle- 
gi'ound  when  the  conflict  rages,  and  carry  from  the 
bloody  field  the  souls  of  the  slain  heroes  to  Valhalla. 
The  most  beautiful  of  these  maidens  who  chose  the 
war-host  for  Odin  was  named  Brunhilda.     But  she 


SIEOFEIED  MEETS  THE  SLEEPING  BEA  UTY.   15 

was  willful  and  disobedient,  and  often  snatched  her 

friends  from  the 
doom  of  death  or 
helped  her  favorite 
heroes  to  victory. 
So  Odin  drove  her 
away  from  Glads- 
heim,  and  she  wan- 
dered off  to  Isen- 
land,  where  she 
was  gladly  wel- 
comed by  the  old 
king  and  the  peo- 
.ple  and  made  prin- 
cess of  the  fair 
realm.  This  caused 
Odin  to  become  still  more  angry,  and 
he  gave  commands  that  Brunhilda 
should  be  stung  with  the  thorn  of 
Sleep,  and  he  placed  around  her 
castle  a  magic  circle  of  fire,  through  whose  flames  a 
brave  knight  must  ride  before  she  could  wake. 

The  Sleeping  Palace. 


The  varying  year  with  blade  and  sheaf 
Clothes  and  rcclothes  the  happy  plains 

Here  rests  the  sap  within  the  leaf, 

Here  stays  the  blood  along  the  veins. 


16        TUE  STORF  OF  TUB  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

Faint  shadows,  vapors  lightly  cairled, 

Faint  murmurs  from  the  meadows  speed, 

Like  hints  and  echoes  of  the  world 
To  germs  enfolded  in  the  seed. 

II. 

Soft  luster  bathes  the  range  of  urns 

On  every  slanting  terrace-lawn. 
The  fountain  to  his  place  returns 

Deep  in  the  garden  lake  withdrawn. 
Here  droops  the  banner  on  the  tower, 

On  the  hall-hearths  the  festal  fires, 
The  peacock  in  his  laurel  bower, 

The  parrot  in  his  gilded  wires. 

III. 

Eoof -haunting  martins  warm  their  eggs; 

In  these,  in  those  the  life  is  stayed. 
The  mantles  from  the  golden  pegs 

Droop  sleepily  :  no  sound  is  made, 
Not  even  of  a  gnat  that  sings. 

More  like  a  picture  seemeth  all 
Than  those  old  portraits  of  old  kings. 

That  watch  the  sleepei-s  from  the  wall. 

IV. 

Here  sits  the  butler  with  a  flask 

Between  his  knees,  half  drained  ;  and  there 
The  wrinkled  steward  at  his  task, 

The  maid-of-honor  blooming  fair  ; 
The  page  has  caught  her  hand  in  his  : 

Her  lips  are  severed  as  to  speak : 
His  own  are  pouted  to  a  kiss  : 

The  blush  is  fixed  upon  her  cheek. 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  THE  SLEEPING  BEA  UTY.    17 

V. 

Till  all  the  hundred  summers  pass, 

The  beams,  that  through  the  oriel  shine, 
Make  prisms  in  every  carven  glass, 

And  beaker  brimmed  with  noble  wine. 
Each  baron  at  the  banquet  sleeps, 

Grave  faces  gathered  in  a  ring. 
His  state  the  king  reposing  keeps. 

He  must  have  been  a  jovial  king. 

VI. 

All  round  a  hedge  upshoots,  and  shows 

At  distance  like  a  little  wood  : 
Thorns,  ivies,  woodbine,  mistletoes, 

And  grapes  with  bunches  red  as  blood  : 
All  creeping  plants,  a  wall  of  green 

Close-matted,  burr  and  brake  and  brier, 
And  glimpsing  over  these,  just  seen 

High  up,  the  topmost  palace-spire. 

VII. 

When  will  the  hundred  summers  die. 

And  thought  and  time  be  born  again, 
And  newer  knowledge,  drawing  nigh. 

Bring  truth  that  sways  the  souls  of  men  ? 
Here  all  things  in  their  place  remain. 

As  all  are  ordered,  ages  since. 
Come,  Care  and  Pleasure,  Hope  and  Pain, 

And  bring  the  fated  fairy  Prince. 

The  Sleeping  Beauty. 
I. 
Year  after  year  unto  her  feet, 

She  lying  on  her  couch  alone,  ^ 

Across  the  purpled  coverlet 

The  maiden's  jet-black  hair  has  grown, 


18        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

On  either  side  her  tranced  form 

Forth  streaming  from  a  braid  of  pearl ; 

The  slumbrous  light  is  rich  and  warm, 
And  moves  not  on  the  rounded  curl. 

II. 
The  silk  star-broidered  coverlid 

Unto  her  limbs  itself  doth  mold 
Languidly  ever  ;  and,  amid 

Her  full  black  ringlets  downward  rolled, 
Glows  forth  each  softly-shadowed  arm 

With  bracelets  of  the  diamond  bright ; 
Her  constant  beauty  doth  inform 

Stillness  with  love,  and  day  with  light. 

III. 
She  sleeps  ;  her  breathings  are  not  heard 

In  palace  chambers  far  apart. 
The  fragrant  tresses  are  not  stirred 

That  lie  upon  her  charmed  heart. 
She  sleeps  :  on  either  hand  upswells 

The  gold-fringed  pillow  lightly  pressed  : 
She  sleeps,  nor  dreams,  but  ever  dwells 

A  perfect  form  in  perfect  rest. 

The  Arrival  of  Siegfried. 
I. 
All  precious  things,  discovered  late, 

To  those  that  seek  them  issue  forth ; 
For  love  in  sequel  works  with  fate, 

And  draws  the  veil  from  hidden  worth. 
He  travels  far  from  other  skies — 

His  mantle  glitters  in  the  rocks — 
A  fairy  Prince  with  joyful  eyes, 

And  lighter-footed  than  the  fox. 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY.   19 

II, 

The  bodies  and  the  bones  of  those 

That  strove  in  other  days  to  pass 
Are  withered  in  the  thorny  close, 

Or  scattered  blanching  on  the  grass. 
He  gazes  on  the  silent  dead  : 

"  They  perished  in  their  daring  deeds." 
This  proverb  flashes  through  his  head, 

' '  The  many  fail :  the  one  succeeds. " 
III. 
He  comes,  scarce  knowing  what  he  seeks  : 

He  breaks  the  hedge  ;  he  enters  there  : 
The  color  flies  into  her  cheeks  : 

He  trusts  to  light  on  something  fair  ; 
For  all  his  life  the  charm  did  talk 

About  his  path,  and  hover  near 
"With  words  or  promise  in  his  walk, 

And  whispered  voices  at  his  ear. 

IV. 

More  close  and  close  his  footsteps  wind : 

The  Magic  Music  in  his  heart 
Beats  quick  and  quicker,  till  he  find 

The  quiet  chamber  far  apart. 
His  spirit  flutters  like  a  lark. 

He  stoops — to  kiss  her — on  his  knee. 
"Love,  if  those  tresses  be  so  dark, 

How  dark  those  hidden  eyes  must  be  1" 

Brunhilda  Awakes. 
I. 
A  touch,  a  kiss  !  the  charm  was  snapt. 

Then  rose  a  noise  of  striking  clocks. 
And  feet  that  ran,  and  doors  that  clapt. 
And  barking  dogs,  and  crowing  cocks. 


20        TUB  SIORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

A  fuller  light  illumined  all, 

A  breeze  through  all  the  garden  swept, 
A  sudden  hubbub  shook  the  hall, 

And  sixty  feet  the  fountain  leapt. 


The  hedge  broke  in,  the  banner  flew, 

The  butler  drank,  the  steward  scrawled, 
The  fire  shot  up,  the  martin  flew, 

The  parrot  screamed,  the  peacock  squalled, 
The  maid  and  page  renewed  their  strife, 

The  palace  banged  and  buzzed  and  clackt, 
And  all  the  long-pent  stream  of  life 

Dashed  downward  in  a  cataract. 

III. 

And  last  with  these  the  king  awoke. 

And  in  his  chair  himself  upreared. 
And  yawned  and  rubbed  his  face,  and  spoke  : 

"By  holy  rood,  a  royal  beard  ! 
How  say  you  ?  we  have  slept,  my  lords. 

My  beard  has  grown  into  my  lap." 
The  barons  swore,  with  many  words, 

'Twas  but  an  after-dinner's  nap. 

IV. 

"  Pardy,"  returned  the  king,  *'  but  still 

My  joints  are  somewhat  stiff  or  so. 
My  lord,  and  shall  we  pass  the  bill 

I  mentioned  half  an  hour  ago  ?" 
The  chancellor,  sedate  and  vain. 

In  courteous  words  returned  reply  : 
But  dallied  with  his  golden  chain, 

And,  smiling,  put  the  question  by. 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  TIJE  SLEEPING  BE  A  UTZ    21 

All  the  people  in  tlie  palace  felt  grateful  to  Siegfried 
for  the  service  done  them.  The  king  and  his  chan- 
cellor, the  page,  the  waiting-maid,  the  brave  men  and 
the  fair  ladies,  and  the  princess  Brnnhilda  all  united 
in  boundless  praise  to  the  hero,  and  besought  him 
to  remain  with  them  in  Isenland.  After  much  per- 
suasion Siegfried  yielded  to  their  request,  and  the 
most  beautiful  rooms  in  the  palace  were  fitted  up 
for  him.  Brunhilda  plighted  her  troth  to  Siegfried, 
who  loved  her  ardently,  and  he  continued  at  her  court 
for  many  months.  But  he  wearied  of  idleness,  and 
longed  for  a  braver  life  and  pined  for  his  native 
land.  One  day  the  two  birds  of  Odin  came  to  him 
and  counseled  him  to  depart,  and  mounting  his  noble 
steed,  he  r   'e  forth  on  new  quests. 


K^^L-^A 


22 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SIEGFRIED    MEETS    KEIEMHILDA. 


N  Burguiulie  tliere  lived  and  throve 

a  truly  handsome  maid  : 
Such  as  in  all  the  countries  round 

was  not,  might  well  ha  said. 
Kriemhilda  fair,  the  maiden  hight, 

— a  beauteous  dame  was  she  ; 
On  her  account  did  many  a  knight 

lose  life  and  high  degree. 

\rW ';  '^1^?  -Tn!'   <         "  Three  rich  and  nobly-meaning  kings 
hor  kin  and  guardians  were  : 
Gunther  and   Gemot   twain   were 
named — both   knights  beyond 
compai'c  ; 
The  third  one  Giselher  was  called,— young,  strong,  and 

versed  in  arms. 
These  brother-princes  heeding  watched  an  only  sister's 
charms." 

These  kings  dwelt  at  Worms  in  Rhenish  Burgundy, 
and  there  they  held  their  court,  which  was  the  resort 
of  lofty  knights  who  came  thither  to  pay  homage 
and  frank-fees  to  their  lords.  Queen  Utie,  their  mo- 
ther, a  wealthy  dame,  had  outlived  their  royal  father, 
Dankrath,  who  in  his  early  days  had  Avon  chivalric 
honors,  and  when  he  died  had  left  his  sons  an  ample 
realm. 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  KRIEMHILDA.  23 

Kriemhilda,  tlie  fair  and  innocent,  dreamed  that 
she  cherished  a  noble  falcon  which,  soaring,  was 
fiercely  clutched  by  two  wrathful  eagles.  Awaking, 
she  told  the  dream  of  ill-omen  to  her  mother,  who 
interjireted  it  as  a  projihecy  that  the  maid  sliould 
wed  a  noble  knight  doomed  to  die  through  treachery. 
Kriemhilda,  therefore,  vowed  never  to  wed,  that  no 
husband  should  ever  bring  her  such  woe  ;  however 
zealous  the  crowd  of  suifors •might  be,  her  heart  re- 
mained ^^ntouched,  Siegfried  being  yet  unknown  to 
her. 

At  the  court  of  his  father,  good  King  Siegismund, 
in  the  Netherland,  Siegfried  had  heard  praises  of 
the  beauty,  the  lofty  mind,  and  virtuous  character  of 
this  maiden,  and  being  under  an  enchantment  which 
made  him  entirely  forgetful  of  Brunhilda,  whom  he 
had  left  in  Isenland,  he  purposed  to  wed  the  high- 
born damsel  of  Burgundy.  The  rumor  of  this  heart- 
affair  soon  reached  King  Siegismund's  ears,  and  his 
mind  was  filled  with  dire  forebodings,  for  ho  knew 
the  strength  of  rjunther's  court,  and  he  tried  to  turn 
the  mind  of  the  young  man  from  the  wooing.  But 
finding  his  son  resolved  in  his  purpose,  the  monarch 
thought  ii.  the  wiser  course  to  acquiesce  and  send  the 
knight  forth  in  style  becoming  a  great  prince. 

With  eleven  accomplished  knights,  in  suits  of 
ruddy  gold,  Siegfried  departed  from  the  Netherland 
and  in  seven  days  arrived  before  Worms.  Advanc- 
ing   in    a  stately   line,   their   helms  flashing,   their 


24        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

swords  reaching  to  the  spur,  they  mude  a  dazzling 
show,  and  tlie  people  of  Guntlicr's  land  l)egan  to  stare 
and  peer,  while  his  serving-men  ran  out  to  meet  them. 

"  The  stately  men  of  Burgundie — esquire  as  well  as  knight — 
Advanced  to  meet   them  as  was  fit ;    moreo'er    'twas 

courtly  right 
That  they  with  promptitude  should  greet  such  visit  to 

their  lord  : 
They  eased  the  strangers  of  their  steeds  and  shields  witii 

one  accord." 

They  would  have  led  the  horses  to  the  stalls,  but 
Siegfried  checked  them,  saying  that  he  was  not  sure 
that  they  should  care  to  remain  in  Gunther's  realm, 
and  begged  to  be  informed  of  that  king's  present  resi- 
dence; whereupon  one  of  the  Burgundians  replied 
with  much  civility  that  the  sovereign  sat  at  council 
with  his  chiefs,  and  bade  him  enter  in. 

The  tidings  reached  King  Gunther's  ears  that 
dauntless  unknown  knights  had  come  to  Worms,  and 
he  marveled  and  was  sorely  vexed  that  none  could 
give  any  account  of  whence  they  came  or  why  they 
were  so  resplcndently  armed  and  arrayed.  Calling  a 
page,  he  bade  him  summon  his  uncle,  llagen — a 
traveled  knight  who  had  become  acquainted  with 
almost  every  warrior  of  renown — that  he  might  iden- 
tify the  strangers.  Standing  at  the  window,  Ilagen 
turned  his  keen  eyes  toward  the  spot  where  the 
travelers  stood. 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  KRIEMIIILDA.  25 

"  Said  he,    '  Come  how  or  whence  tliey  may  unto   our 
Rhenisli  States, 
They  are  forsooth  true  princes  born,  or  royal  delegates. 
Stout  are  the  horses  they  have  rode,  and  their  apparel's 

good  : 
From  whatsoever  land  they  come,  they  are  of  gentle 
blood  ! 

"  'I'm  fain  to  own,  though  traveled  much,   beyond  our 

Burgundie, 
It  ne'er  befell  by  any  chance  that  I  did  Siegfried  see : 
Yet  will  I  vouch  on  best  belief — not  doubting  I  am  right. 
That  yonder  stately  striding  chief  is  he,   that  valiant 

knight ! 

"  'Therefore  I  counsel  that  the  prince  be  courteously  re- 
ceived ; 
And  we  deserve  not  such  rebuke  as  he  deals  out  when 

grieved. 
Besides,  his  form  of  finest  mold  induces  courtesy  : 
He  has  effected  by  his  arm  rare  feats  of  potency,'  " 

Then  royal  Guntlier  went  forth  to  receive  the 
valorous  knights,  inquiring  with  kindly  courtesy  what 
errand  had  brought  them  to  the  Ilhine-land;  to  which 
Siegfried  replied  that,  being  a  knight  soon  to  inherit 
a  crown,  he  came  to  them  to  receive  i)ublic  recogni- 
tion ;  failing  in  which  he  should  wrest  from  the  kings 
of  Burgundy  in  mortal  fight  their  lands  and  burghs. 
Hagen  was  well  aware  of  Siegfried's  i^rowess,  and 
counseled  them  to  acknowledge  the  rights  of  the 
brave  prince,  sharing  tlie  best  with  him  as  if  they 
were  all  of  one  brotherhood.     The  servants  of  Sieg- 


'i(>        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

fried  wore  led  away  to  dainty  apai-tments,  while  the 
l)riiice,  as  ^lest  of  King  (Junllier,  Ava.s  royally  enter- 
tained. 

During  Siegfried's  visit  to  Gunther  messengers 
arrived  from  the  Saxons  and  Danes  with  a  declara- 
tion of  war  against  the  Bnrgnndians.  The  anxiety 
of  the  king  brought  sorrow  into  his  face;  perceiving 
which,  Siegfried  armed  himself  and  Avent  forth  to  the 
conflict,  and  by  his  miraculous  valor  brought  the  war 
to  a  speedy  end,  Never  had  so  large  a  trophy-train 
been  seen  as  came  to  AYorms  enthralled  through 
Siegfried's  valiant  hand.  Two  kings  and  many  high- 
l)orn  captives  were  of  the  train,  and  (Junthcr's  heart 
l)eat  high  with  love  and  gratitude  to  the  hero  who 
had  helped  him  to  so  great  a  conquest.  Sir  Sieg- 
fried now  bethought  himself  to  return  to  his  father's 
kingdom;  but  when  his  will  was  made  known  to 
Gunther,  the  king  begged  him  to  tarry  awhile  longer, 
Tlie  knight  agreed;  he  had  not  yet  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Kriemhilda. 

Whitsunday  was  ajiproaching,  and  with  it  a  festal- 
tide.  On  all  sides  the  high-born  guests  were  seen 
approaching.  Elevated  seats  sliining  with  cloth  of 
gold  were  prepared  for  the  dukes  and  i)rinces,  to 
charm  whom  courtly  ladies  vied  with  each  otlier  in 
rich  attire.  Many  thousand  knights,  superl>ly  dressed, 
rode  to  the  jousting-field,  where  groups  of  knights 
wielded  mimic  lances  in  sportive  rivalry.  King  Gun- 
ther had  in  liis  mind  the  intention  to  surprise  Sieg- 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  KIUEMIIILDA.  27 

fried,  so  he  Ltidc  the  splendid  Kriemhihhi  and   the 
ladies  of  his  court  to  appear  at  the  festival. 

"  Then  were  the  presses,  chests,  and  drawers  rummaged  for 
dresses  new  ; 

And  all  that  splendor  could  advance  was  quickly  brought 
to  view. 

Of  clasps  and  bracelets,  fringe  and  lace,  there  was  a  goodly 
show ; 

For  dames  and  maids  attired  themselves,  right  sumptu- 
ously I  trow." 

"  The  bland  king  then  comnuinduient  gave  that  five  score 

valiant  men 
Should  tend  upon  his  sister  fair,  and  Utie,  there  and 

then. 
They  carried,  every  one  of  them,  drawn  sword  in  dexter 

hand, 
And  were  all  members  of  the  court  as  held  in  Burgund- 

land." 

Like  the  morning  star,  bright  harbinger  of  day, 
emerging  from  tlie  clouds  of  eve,  Kriemliilda  came, 
in  lier  rose-and-lily  beauty  before  the  eyes  of  Sieg- 
fried, who,  growing  pallid  and  then  red,  as  despair 
and  love  alternately  seized  his  soul,  said  to  himself, 
"How  could  I  ever  be  so  witless  as  to  think  of  thee, 
tliou  lovely  one!  But  I  were  better  dead  tlum  to  shun 
thee."  Then  Gunther,  the  beloved  brother  and  good 
sovereign,  gave  comnumds  that  in  presence  of  his 
noble  knights  the  valiant  chief  who  had  rendered  so 
great  aid  to  them  in  their  distress  should  be  led  to 


28        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


his  fair  sister,  that  she  might  greet  the  hero.     With 
gentle  courtesy  and  bashful  pride  he  met  the  maiden, 


^\ 


4" 


wlio  tried  to  hide  her  embarrassment.     Yet  stolen, 
tender  glances  passed  between  them  as  he  took  her 


SIEGFRIED  MEETS  KRIEMIIILDA.  29 

white  hand,  and  it  was  decreed  that,  according  to 
custom,  she  should  kiss  the  brave  knight.  The  greet- 
ing being  over,  the  knight  received  a  side-hint  to 
leave  the  maiden,  from  those  wdio  knew  churchly 
usage,  and  she  entered  the  minster -nave  with  many 
dames,  while  Siegfried  waited  impatiently  until  mass 
was  done.  When  she  came  from  the  minster  porch, 
Kriemhilda  invited  the  dauntless  knight  to  join  her. 

"  '  Keward  you  God,  Sir  Siegfried  !'  so  spake  the  youthful 
dame  : 
'  In  all  you've  done  so  gloriously — that  all  our  chiefs  of 

fame 
Do  hold  you  in  such  high  respect — I  joy  in  what  I 

hear! ' 
Sir  Siegfried  from  that  moment  held  the  maiden  passing 
dear. 

"  '  So  will  I  ever  do  and  serve  ! '  said  loyal  Sicgefried  ; 
'And  never  shall  my  drowsy  head  the  doAvaiy  pillow 
heed, 
Until  I've  done  their  every  wish,  if  life  be  spared  to  me  ! 
This  pledge  of  services  I  make,  through  purest  love  of 
thee.' 

"Now  during  twelve  successive  days,  as  each  morn  did 

arrive, 
One  saw  the  lovely  maid  and  knight — as  if  by  chance — 

contrive 
That  side  by  side  they'd  walk  to  court — she  waving  royal 

right. 
This  gentle  act  took  place  aluue  from  great  love  to  the 

knight." 


30        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

Gladness,  high  banqueting,  and  joyful  shouts  daily 
proceeded  from  the  royal  Gunther's  hall  until  the 
festival  ended  and  the  guests  rode  away  in  groups. 
Siegfried,  despairing  to  obtain  the  maid,  thought  to 
take  leave  of  the  Burgundian  court,  when  a  new  ven- 
ture in  behalf  of  Gunther  presented  itself  and  he  was 
prevailed  upon  to  remain  in  the  company  of  fair 
Kriemhilda's  brothers. 


THE   WOOING   OF  BRUNHILD. 


31 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE   WOOING    OF   BRUNHILD. 

ING     GUNTHER     had 

heard  of  the  famed  prin- 
cess of  Isenland.  Reports 
of  her  wondrous  beauty 
and  dignity  had  appealed 
to  his  imagination,  and 
he  resolved  to  woo  her 
for  his  bride. 

"  Eke  poiHrrous  stone  she  far 
could  hurl,    and   bound 
beyond  the  mass  : 
Sucb  knigbt  as  suitored  for  her  love  had  Brunhild  to 

surpass. 
Three  several  games  the  wooer  brave  must  win  ere  she 

would  wed  : 
Failed  he  in  one — forthwith  was  he  dispatched  by  loss  of 
head  !" 


When  the  great  strength  of  Brnnhilda  aiul  the 
peril  of  wooing  her  were  known,  King  Gunther  made 
up  his  mind  to  cross  the  sea  whate'er  the  upshot, 
and  he  invited  Siegfried  to  accompany  him  to  help 


A////' 'I' 


THE   WOOINO   OF  BRUNHILD.  33 

him  to  win  the  powerful  maid,  promising  if  need  be 
to  jeopardize  his  honor  and  his  life  in  return. 
"  That  will  I  do,"  said  Siegfried,  "  if  on  success  thoH 
wilt  accord  me  thy  sister :  I  ask  as  my  reward  Kriem- 
hild  the  beautiful ;  it  is  the  only  recompense  I  claim 
should  fortune  favor  us/'  "  Such  vouch  I  unto  thee, 
sir  knight,  and  give  my  hand  thereto,"  quoth  Gunther; 
"and  more,  if  we  bring  Queen  Brunhild  into  our 
Burgund  land,  at  that  time  shall  Kriemhilda  the  fair 
become  Siegfried's  wedded  wife."  Thereupon  the 
two  celebrated  heroes  swore  a  solemn  oath. 

Siegfried  did  not  fail  to  take  with  him  the  veiling- 
cloak,  with  which  to  render  himself  invisible — the 
cloak  which  he  had  won  from  the  renowned  dwarf 
Alberic  of  the  hoard.  Brave  knights  prepared  to  go 
with  them  on  board  the  ship.  The  gilded  shields 
were  carried  down  to  where  the  ship  was  moored,  and 
helms  and  other  arms  were  selected  for  the  trip. 
Steeds  were  brought  to  palace  doors,  while  many 
pretty  damsels  stood  with  scalding  tears  of  woe  in 
their  eyes  as  they  watched  from  the  jutting  windows 
to  see  the  ship  get  under  sail.  On  board  was  an 
ample  store  of  wine  and  choice  viands.  To  clear  the 
quay  Siegfried  took  in  hand  a  stout  boat-hook,  while 
Gunther  plied  the  ashen  oar,  and  by  their  united 
strength  they  soon  gained  the  deejier  current  and  the 
ship  sailed  steadily  out  to  sea.  On  the  morning  of 
the  twelfth  day  the  gallant  bark  drew  near  to  Brun- 
hild's land,  a  land  unknoAvn  to  all  save  Siegfried. 


34        rilE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


Eiofhtv-six  turrets  could  be  seen  from  the  outer  side 
of  the  wall.  Within  Avere  tliree  palaces  and  one  most 
spacious  liall  composed  through- 
out of  grass-green  blocks  of  marble. 
In  this  hall  Bruuhilda  sat  in  state 
amidst  her  court.  The  castle-gate 
was  soon  unlocked  and  the  portals 
thrown  wide  open,  while  Brun- 
hilda's  liegemen  sprang  to  give 
quick  greetings  to  the  unknown 
chivalry  and  welcome  them  to 
their  lady's  land.  When  Brun- 
hilda  saw  Sir  Siegfried  among 
the    knights,  she    turned 


and,  with  all  kindliness  addressing  him,  inquired  the 
purport  of  his  coming.     "  Behold  my  king  and  sov- 


THE  WOOING   OF  BRUNHILD.  35 

ereign  lord,  Guntlicr  the  rich  and  strong,  whose 
only  object  is  thy  love.  I  left  my  native  home  as 
his  true  vassal;  otherwise  I  should  never  have  come." 

"  Said  she,  '  If  sootli  he  be  thy  lord,  and  thou  liis  liegeman 

true, 
And  he  bo  able  to  effect  the  games  I  have  in  view- 
Coming  off  conqueror  therein — then  will  I  be  his  wife. 
Should  I  gain  one, — then  all  of  you  make  forfeiture  of 

life! 

"  '  He  must  the  stone  with  potence  hurl,  and  leap  to  where 

it  lies; 
Moreover  with  me  the  jav'lin  tlirow;  to  ponder  well  were 

wise ! 
For  'twere  light  thing  through  games  like  these  to  lose 

both  life  and  fame ! 
He  yet  has  time  to  change  his  mind.'    So  said  the  royal 

dame." 

The  fleet  Sir  Siegfried  thereon  went  to  Gunther 
and  bade  him  frankly  tell  the  queen  his  thoughts  and 
purposes,  and  advised  him  to  assume  a  very  dauntless 
air,  since  he  would  craftily  be  his  guard.  Then  said 
King  Gunther  to  the  queen :  "  Most  beautiful  Brun- 
hilda,  I  take  your  terms  however  stern;  nay,  though 
they  were  harsher,  I  had  consented  to  them  straight 
through  ardent  love  of  thee.*'  When  the  beauteous 
queen  heard  what  Gunther  had  to  say  she  ordered 
the  games  to  begin  at  once;  and  for  that  purpose 
bade  them  take  her  war-gear  to  the  field,  her  vest  of 
mail  of  ruddy  gold  and  her  shield  adorned  Avitli  gems. 


36        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

While  that  was  taking  place  Siegfried  hastened  un- 
missed  to  the  ship  and  put  on  the  tarn-kappe,  the 
cloak  of  invisibility,  that  he  might  not  be  seen  by 
any  one.  Without  delay  he  hurried  back  to  Gun- 
ther's  side. 

Then  a  weighty  javelin  was  brought  to  the  queen, 
a  ponderous  instrument,  shar])  and  strong,  with  keen 
blades  of  steel  let  in  on  either  side.  Yet  it  was 
light  to  her  and  she  never  threw  it  wide  of  the  mark. 
To  the  queen  was  brought  also  a  stone  so  large 
that  a  dozen  knights  could  hardly  lift  it.  She 
quickly  bared  her  lily  arm  by  pushing  up  her  sleeve, 
and  buckled  on  the  shield.  Siegfried  in  his  veiling- 
cloak  standing  close  to  Gunther  whispered  to  him 
to  make  a  dumb  show  of  doing  the  work  which  he 
himself  would  really  effect.  The  maiden  poised  her 
javelin  high  in  air  and  hurled  it  at  Gunther's  heart, 
but  it  entered  the  shield  which  Siegfried  bore  upon 
his  stalwart  arm. 

Sparks  flew  from  the  polished  steel  like  lightning 
from  the  storm-cloud.  Both  Siegfried  and  Gunther 
reeled  under  the  blow,  and  the  purple  blood  flowed 
from  the  mouth  of  the  knight.  The  tarn-kai)pe  had 
saved  them.  Siegfried  then  wrenched  the  cutting 
spear  from  the  shield  and  hurled  it  at  the  haughty 
queen,  who  fell  beneath  the  blow;  but  she  soon  re- 
gained her  footing,  and  springing  full  of  spite  to 
where  the  cumbrous  stone  lay,  she  raised  it  from  off 
the  ground  and  flung  it  with  gi'eat  power  to  an  as- 


TEE   WOOING   OF  BRUNHILD.  37 

tounding  distance,  leaping  with  a  single  bound  to 
where  it  struck. 

Upon  this,  Siegfried,  taking  Gunther  deftly  posed 
under  the  tarn-kappe,  ran  to  the  missile  and  cast  it 
beyond  the  mark,  carrying  Gunther  the  whole  leap's 
length.  Then  Brunhilda  called  her  courtiers  and 
said  to  them,  "Henceforth  ye  are  King  Gunther's 
lieges;"  whereupon  they  put  off  their  weapons  and 
did  homage  to  the  king  of  the  Rhine.  Gunther 
bowed  to  his  new  vassals  in  the  most  courtly  manner, 
and  Brunhilda,  taking  his  hand,  gave  him  rights  and 
power  to  rule  within  her  ample  realm. 

All  were  joyous  and  glad  to  greet  so  brave  a  king. 
The  active  knight,  Sir  Siegfried,  slipped  back  to  the 
ship,  where  he  hid  his  cloak  ere  he  hied  him  to  the 
hall  of  rejoicing. 

"'Thus  far  we  gloriously  have  sped,'    said  Siegfried  to 
Brunhild. 
'  You'll  no  more  show  such  haughtiness,  or  be  so  way- 
ward-willed ! 
For  you  have  found   there  lives  who  can  o'ermaster 

strength  of  thine. 
Now,  noble  lady,  please  you  go  with  us  unto  the  Rhine.' " 


38        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE     MARRIAGE     OF     GUNTHER     WITH     BRUNHILDA, 
AND    SIEGFRIED    WITH    KRIEMHILDA. 


HE  king  sat  at  the   festive 
:^i^      board  beside  the  queen 
!(^      Brunhild, 

^^  AVho  ne'er  had  felt  such 
C>-<>tLi       inward    pang    as  when 
she  saw  Kriemhild 
Seated  by  Siegefried    the 
bold :  to  weep  the  maid 
began, 
And  o'er  her  splendid  dam- 
ask  cheek    the   burning 
teardrop  ran." 

To  her  the  king 
turned  with  anxious 
look,  asking  the  cause 
of  her  tears ;  when  Brunhilda  replied  that  it  troubled 
her  to  know  that  the  king's  sister  was  so  unmeetly 
matched  to  a  mere  liegeman.  Gunther  begged 
her  to  be  silent  on  the  question,  since  he  would 
in  the  future  explain  to  her  how  Kriemhilda  had 
made  an  honorable  marriage.  But  the  frame  of 
Brunhilda's  mind  was  such  that  it  needed   only  a 


MARRIAGES  OF  OUNTHER  AND  SIEGFRIED.   39 


slight  provocation  to  arouse  her  temper,  and  when 
they  were  come  to  their  nuptial  chamber  she  snatched 
an  enchanted  girdle  from  her  waist  and  bound  King 
Gunther's  hands  and  feet  and  bore  him  to  a  giant 
nail,  where  she  hung  him  'gainst  the  wall,  forbidding 
him  to  utter  any  tender  words  lest  her  slumbers  be 
disturbed.  At  dawn  he  began  to  supplicate  for  his 
freedom,  and  she  loosed  the  cord  but  forebore  the 
least  display  of  affection.  The  king  felt  sick  at  heart 
as  he  met  the  courtiers  in  their  robes  of  state  that 
day,  and  he  meditated  on  his  un- 
happy lot. 

Conformably    with    a    custom 
widely  known,  King  Gunther  and 
Brunhilda       agreed 
to  visit  the  minster  ^ 
choir,  where    holy 
mass  was  sung.  Sieg- 
fried   and     Kriem- 
hilda     accompanied 
them,  the  regal  four 
wearing  diadems  of 
state.   Esquires  were 
duly     dubbed     that 
day,  receiving  swords  ^ 
and   knightly   spurs 
in     honor     of     the 
queen ;     and     there 
was   great    jubilating    throughout    Gunther's    land. 


40        TUB  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

The  ladies  sat  at  the  windows,  to  view  the  busy 
field  where  polished  shields  glittered  in  the  sun. 
Gunther  sat  apart  grieving,  when  the  noble  Sieg- 
fried, who  surmised  his  ill-usage  at  the  hands  of 
Brunhilda,  wistfully  inquired  the  cause  of  his  woe. 
The  host  in  sorrow  confided  to  Siegfried,  who  bade 
him  take  courage.  The  knight  then  said,  "  When 
supper  is  over  I  will  go  to  your  nuptial  chamber 
masked  in  my  cloak  of  invisibility,  where  I  will  so 
punish  the  haughty  queen  that  she  will  henceforth 
prove  submissive  to  you,"  After  Brunhilda  left  the 
supper  attended  by  her  maids,  Siegfried  continued 
for  awhile  at  the  board  with  the  fair  Kriemhilda, 
when  he  suddenly  disappeared  from  her  sight,  which 
caused  the  gentle  wife  much  alarm.  Without  ado 
Siegfried  joroceeded  to  Gunther's  apartments  and 
provoked  Brunhilda  into  a  violent  wrath,  when  she 
threw  him  against  a  tressel  with  great  force.  Then 
she  began  to  bind  him  hand  and  foot,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  hanging  him  on  a  nail  as  she  had  done  to 
Guntlier  the  preceding  night,  for  she  believed  she 
Avas  contending  with  her  husband,  since  the  chamber 
was  but  dimly  lighted  and  Siegfried's  cloak  com- 
pletely disguised  him.  Siegfried  was  nearly  squeezed 
to  death  between  the  oaken  press  and  the  wall  and 
almost  lost  hia  life,  but  calling  up  his  utmost  energy, 
he  caught  Brunhilda  and  threw  her  with  such  force 
that  she  was  glad  to  beg  for  mercy,  and  she  promised 
never  to  wage  warfare  upon  her  lord  again. 


MARRIAGES  OF  GUNTHER  AND  SIEGFRIED.   41 

Siegfried,  with  great  dexterity,  drew  a  ring  from 
her  hand  so  that  she  never  felt  the  jewel  go,  and  tak- 
ing her  magic  girdle,  he  slipped  away  without  her 
perceiving  that  she  had  been  overcome  by  another 


hand  than  that  of  her  hiTsband,  and  the  trembling 
king  received  her  protestations  of  reform. 

Siegfried  gave  the  girdle  and  the  ring  to  Kriem- 
hilda,  and  he  did  not  withhold  from  her  the  story  of 
Brunhilda's  punishment. 


42        TUB  STORY  OF  TllE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


THE  QUARREL  OF  THE  QUEEXS. 


;^?-^FTER  some  time  reports 
reached  the  upper  Rhine 
^[•^  that  many  knights  in 
Siegmund's  land  were  al- 
ways fully  armed  and 
ready  to  meet  any  foe 
at  their  monarch's  call. 
Alarmed  at  this,  King 
Gunther  resolved  to  do 
likewise.  Siegfried,  be- 
side his  father's  realm, 
held  sway  over  the  Nib- 
lungen  land  and  was  more 
rich  and  powerful  than 
any  of  his  kin.  The  hoard  which  he  had  won  made 
him  richer  in  gold  and  gems  than  any  other  hero, 
and  this  he  had  given  to  Kriemhilda  as  her  wedding 
gift.  Brunhilda,  still  under  tlie  impression  that 
Siegfried  was  Gunther's  liegeman,  often  wondered 
with  much  bitterness  of  feeling  how  it  came  that 
Kriemhilda  carried  herself  so  high  and  why  Siegfried 


THE  QUARREL   OF  THE  QUEENS.  43 

was  neither  compelled  to  do  service  nor  pay  frank- 
fee  for  his  land. 

She  could  not  understand  why  such  homage  should 
fail,  so  she  cunningly  pressed  the  king  to  know  if  she 
should  see  the  fair  Krierahilda  and  Siegfried  once 
more  in  Burgundy,  and  implored  him  to  bid  them  to 
the  Burgundian  court. 

Gunther  tried  to  reconcile  matters  by  pleading  that 
their  country  was  too  far  away,  when  Brunhilda  re- 
joined with  haughtiness  that  the  vassal  never  dared  to 
disobey  his  liege-lord  if  summoned  by  him  to  appear. 
Gunther  could  not  refrain  from  smiling  at  Brunhilda's 
feudal  law.  Then  she  begged  him  to  invite  them  as 
guests  near  of  kin,  saying  that  she  doubted  not  Kriem- 
hilda  had  done  right  to  pledge  herself  to  the  liegeman, 
and  she  fain  would  feel  once  more  the  influence  of  her 
kindly-tempered  mind.  After  much  persuasion  the 
yielding  king  dispatched  thirty  of  his  best  knights 
to  the  Netherlands  with  a  cordial  invitation  to  an  on- 
coming festival,  and  he  sent  greetings  from  Queen  Utie 
and  Brunhilda. 

The  maids  and  pages  of  Siegfried's  court  flocked 
to  see  the  Burgund  knights  as  they  rode  up,  and 
spoke  the  best  of  all  they  knew  to  please  the  new- 
come  messengers.  The  brave  host  and  his  lovely 
wife  gave  courtly  audience  to  the  knights  and  enter- 
tained them  royally  for  many  days,  while  Siegfried 
waited  to  see  some  absent  nobles  ere  accepting  the  in- 
vitation.     'J'he  chiefs   of  Siegfried's   court,   finding 


44        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

their  lord  inclined  to  favor  the  visit  to  Bur^^iudy, 
cautioned  him  to  take  along  a  thousand  knights,  and 
the  good  King  Siegismund  volunteered  to  join  the 
company  with  a  hundred  liegeman  more.  The 
stranger-knights  were  then  allowed  to  dejiart,  bearing 
the  joyful  tidings,  their  sumpters  being  2)acked  with 
costly  gifts,  more  in  number  than  they  could  well 
carry. 

Siegfried  and  Siegismund  clothed  their  people  most 
splendidly.  Whatever  fancy  or  comfort  could  sug- 
gest was  lavishly  dealt  out  to  the  dames  and  gallant 
knights  who  formed  Siegfried's  train.  The  messen- 
gers arrived  at  Gunther's  court  in  due  season,  when 
the  king  sprang  from  his  regal  chair  in  excess  of  joy 
to  see  his  knights  so  soon  returned,  while  Brunhilda 
received  them  with  great  dignity.  The  margrave 
Garie,  leader  of  the  knights,  spoke  for  the  company, 
assuring  them  of  the  gladness  their  message  had 
spread  in  the  Netherlands.  Nor  did  he  fail  to  inform 
them  of  the  gifts  from  rich  King  Siegfried.  Brun- 
hilda inquired  jealously  if  Kriemhilda  had  retained 
her  beauty,  while  the  mother  asked  after  her  health. 
Stern  Ilagen  looked  upon  the  splendid  gifts  which 
were  openly  displayed  in  court  and  said,  "  lie  well 
may  give  with  such  sumptuousness,  for  he  can  never 
spend  a  tithing  of  the  wealth  which  he  possesses.  He 
has  made  the  hoard  of  Niblungen  his  by  his  own  hand. 
What  if  that  hoard  should  some  day  get  into  our  own 
laud  ?" 


THE  QUARREL   OF  THE  QUEENS.  45 

The  household  of  the  king,  elate  at  the  coming 
of  Kriemhilda,  coulrl  never  tire  in  their  prejiarations. 
Many  a  stately  cliair  was  made,  and  many  a  design  to 
add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  coming  guests.  Numerous 
large  packing-chests  full  of  rich  garments  were  sent 
on  by  Siegfried  before  himself  and  the  fair  Kriemhilda 
mounted  horse,  and  with  their  friendly  comj^any  they 
rode  forth  toward  upper  Ehineland.  They  left  behind 
them  their  little  son,  destined,  alas  I  never  again  to  see 
father  or  mother.  The  high-born  strangers  were  re- 
ceived with  joy.  The  kings  greeted  each  other  with 
royal  courtesy,  the  active  knights  helped  the  sprightly 
maidens  from  their  saddles,  and  the  lovely  queens 
saluted  each  other  by  a  close  embrace.  The  retinue 
on  either  side  held  out  the  friendly  hand,  whilst  lov- 
ing kisses  passed  between  the  ladies  of  each  court. 
Erelong  the  noble  guests  were  shown  to  resting-rooms, 
but  one  might  have  noticed  Brunhilda's  jealous  eyes 
casting  keen  glances  at  queen  Kriemhilda's  face, 
whose  color  was  more  brilliant  and  her  beauty  more 
lustrous  than  in  former  years.  The  company  were 
feasted  bounteously  ;  the  serving-men  with  readiness 
displayed  their  waiting-wit;  royal  Gunther  sat  at 
board  amongst  his  guests,  and  Sir  Siegfried  Avas 
appointed  to  his  accustomed  place  of  honor.  Twelve 
hundred  knights,  each  one  of  lofty  mien,  sat  with  him, 
Brunhilda  thinking  to  herself  how  wonderful  it  was 
that  a  liegeman  dared  to  be  so  grand. 

A  tournament  was  to  take  place,  and  on  the  preced- 


46        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

ing  evening  a  great  banquet,  where  wine  gave  zest  to 
mirth,  was  held  in  King  (hmther's  hall,  and  through 
the  carelessness  of  the  waiters  many  costly  dresses  were 
soiled.  So  as  soon  as  the  nightly  hours  were  fled, 
the  great  chests  were  rummaged  over  and  numerous 
dresses  sparkling  with  gems  and  jewelry  were  taken 
by  gentle  ladies'  hands  to  be  worn  that  day.  Before 
it  could  be  called  broad-day  there  came  from  the  pal- 
ace-hall great  numbers  of  gay  knights  and  spruce 
esquires.  The  mass  was  sung  by  many  pious  lips  be- 
fore King  Gunther.  After  which  there  were  trials 
of  horsemanship.  Anon  the  trumpet's  clangor  was 
heard  in  mighty  blasts  and  sounds  of  hoarsely  rum- 
bling drums  and  shrill  pipes.  The  stately  knights 
bestrode  their  steeds,  and  the  grand  tournament  began. 
The  two  queens,  surrounded  by  jiretty  maids,  were 
stationed  in  the  jutting  window  where  they  could 
see  all  of  the  jousting-sports.  At  length  Kriem- 
hilda  broke  silence,  saying  her  Siegfried  was  so  great 
a  knight  that  by  right  he  should  be  the  ruler  over  all 
of  the  land.  "  Behold  him  moving  there  before  those 
other  knights  as  the  brightly  shining  moon  leads  on 
the  starry  host.  Possessing  so  perfect  a  chief,  have  I 
not  cause  to  boast  ?"  Then  Brunhild's  brow  dark- 
ened and  she  replied,  "  However  great  your  husband 
be  in  deed  or  beauty,  yet  you  must  allow  that  your 
brother  by  high  birth  should  be  placed  before  him  and 
all  other  kings."  At  this  Kriemhilda  bridled  up  and 
made  angry  retort ;  but  Brunhilda  said,  "  I  heard  each 


THE  QUARREL   OF  THE  QUEENS. 


47 


of  them  acknowledge  to  the  other  that  Siegfried  was 
liegeman  to  Gunther.  I  have  ever  held  him  since 
as  a  vassal  paying  fee."  "  Does  Brunhild  indeed 
think  that  my  brother 


^m^mm^^y^:^: 


^^mm: 


would  make  me  his 
vassal's  wife  ?"  quoth 
Kriemhilda,  "then 
were  I  allied  to  a  pre- 
tense, and  henceforth 
I  beg  Queen  Brunhild 
that  she  desist  from 
such  sland'rous  tales." 
"I'll  not  desist,"  said 
Queen  Brunhild,  "  but 
reassert  my  right.  Dost 
thou  suppose  that  I 
will  resign  the  service 
of  so  many  useful 
knights  who,  as  well  as 
thy  spouse,  are  owing 
gage  ?"  "  You  shall 
desist,"  said  the  beauti- 
ful Kriemhild,  who 
could  not  suppress 
her  rage,  "you  shall 
desist.  To  make  such  claim  shows  a  dishonest 
mind.  You  shall  have  no  service  from  him.  By 
right  of  rank  I'll  brook  no  more  such  haughtiness 
from    you,   and    to   show    you    that   I    take    preced- 


bi;. 


48        THE  STOIiY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 
ence,  this   day   will   I   enter  minster-church   before 

you." 

The  two  queens  like  competitors  now  separated 
their  retinues,  and  Siegfried's  wife  ordered  her  train  to 
don  their  richest  clothes,  which  mandate  they  obeyed 
most  gladly.  So  richly  were  they  attired  that  all 
description  would  be  vain.  Arrived  at  minster-porch 
fair  Brunhilda  commanded  Kriemhilda  and  her  court 
to  stand  aside  that  the  Queen  of  Burgundy  might 
pass  before  the  wife  of  the  liegeman,  when  Kriem- 
hilda, so  excited  was  her  soul,  taunted  her  proud 
hostess  with  the  victories  gained  over  her  by  Siegfried 
through  the  virtues  of  the  cloak  of  invisibility,  all  of 
this  being  a  secret  to  her  as  yet.  Stung  to  the  heart 
by  such  cruel  taunts,  Brunhilda's  tears  began  to  flow, 
and  Kriemhild  went  onward  into  the  church,  taking 
precedence  of  the  queen. 

When  mass  was  done,  Brunhilda  waited  with- 
out the  porch,  and  as  Kriemhilda  was  about  to 
pass,  commanded  her  to  halt  and  retract  the  insult 
or  produce  evidence  of  the  truth  of  what  she  had 
said.  Thereon  said  Kriemhilda,  "Unworthy  dame, 
behold  a  voucher  in  the  ring  upon  my  finger. 
This  did  Siegfried  snatch  from  you  when  he  over- 
threw you."  Said  Brunhild,  "  The  ring  was  stolen 
from  me  many  years  since,  and  now  am  I  on  the  thief's 
track."  "I  will  not  bear  the  odium  of  a  thief!"  re- 
turned Kriemhild,  "and  I  further  prove  by  your 
girdle  I  have  on  that  I  am  not  charged  with  falsehood." 


I 


THE  QUARREL   OF  THE  QUEENS.  49 

When  Brunhild  beheld  the  silken  cord  she  was 
o'erwhelmed  with  shame,  since  therewith  she  would 
have  bound  her  lord.  Then  said  Brunhildu,  sob- 
bing, "Fetch  the  noble  monarch  of  the  Rhine  to 
me  and  he  shall  hear  presently  how  I  have  been 
grossly  slandered  by  his  sister."  The  king  came 
promptly  with  his  knights,  and  pensively  beheld  his 
beloved  queen  bathed  in  tears.  "  Tell  me,  my  hon- 
ored queen,"  quoth  he,  "  the  cause  of  thy  grief."  "  I 
complain  in  that  thy  sister  with  malicious  spite  would 
rob  me  of  my  high  repute,"  replied  Brunhilda.  Said 
Gunther,  "  If  that  be  so,  she  hath  done  an  evil  deed." 

Thereon  King  Gunther  bade  his  knights  to  call  Sieg- 
fried hither;  who,  when  he  beheld  the  disconsolate 
queens,  asked  on  what  grounds  their  unseemly  tears 
and  accusations  were  based.  Quoth  Gunther,  court- 
eously, "  My  wife  has  told  me  a  truly  wondrous  tale. 
She  says  that  tlirough  your  open  boasts  she  hath  been 
robbed  of  her  high  repute.  ITast  thou  woven  scan- 
dals about  her  ?"  "  Not  I,"  said  dauntless  Siegfried; 
"and  if  Kriemhilda  hath  so  spoken,  before  these 
worthy  knights  I  do  solemnly  aver  that  she  shall 
repent  thereof.  However  fair  wives  are,  they  should 
be  well  schooled  to  suppress  wantonness  of  speech. 
Do  you  instruct  your  charming  wife,  and  I  will  surely 
tutor  mine,  since  this  feminine  fray  hath  brought  us 
shame  and  vexation." 

This  assurance  appeased  the  wrath,  of  Gunther 
but   not   the   anger  of   Brunhilda.      Her  heart  was 


50        TUE  STOliY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

wounded  with  a  grief  that  knows  no  remedy  save 
death.  In  earnest  converse  the  courtly  trains  de- 
parted, Kriemhilda  to  her  dainty  apartments, 
lirunhikhi  wofully  to  sob  out  her  wrongs  in  presence 
of  the  Tronyie  chief,  her  husband's  uncle,  Hagen. 

Amongst  King  Gunther's  men  a  strong  com- 
passion for  Brunhilda  began  to  gi'ow,  and  Sieg- 
fried's death  was  debated.  Kriemhilda's  brother 
Gemot  chose  to  follow  Brunhilda's  chiefs,  but  Gisel- 
her  spake  his  mind  that  Sir  Siegfried  did  not  deserve 
to  be  secretly  plundered  of  his  life  through  so  slight  an 
offense.  Then  Hagen  with  great  wrath  declared  that 
for  so  great  an  indignity  against  the  monarch's  wife 
Siegfried  should  die,  and  that,  too,  by  Hagen's  hand; 
and  from  that  day  by  wily  speech  he  urged  King 
Gunther  that  if  he  were  quit  of  Siegfried,  gi'eat  por- 
tions of  his  lands  would  fall  to  the  Burgundian  king. 

Gunther  felt  great  distress  at  these  suggestions, 
and  counseled  Hagen  to  abandon  his  fierce  rage,  since 
.  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  Siegfried  had  been  ap- 
pointed protector  over  them  through  divine  power, 
and  reminded  Hagen  of  the  knight's  o'erpowering 
strength  and  prowess.  "  Be  of  stout  heart,  my  hon- 
ored lord,"  said  Hagen ;  "  I  take  it  upon  myself  to  re- 
venge Brunhilda's  sorrows;  and  do  you  say  to  your 
guests  that  I  purpose  marching  with  all  my  forces 
against  a  certain  foe,  so  that  Sir  Siegfried  shall  proffer 
help.  By  that  stratagem  shall  I  get  from  his  wife  the 
secret  through  which  he  shall  lose  liis  life." 


THE  DEATH  OF  SIEGFRIED. 


51 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE    DEATH    OF    SIEGFRIED. 


"N"  the  fourth  morning  after 
these  events,  thirty-two 
strange  horsemen  came  to 
Worms.  The  news  was 
quickly  spread  among  the 
knights  that  they  came  from 
distant  foes  to  announce  im- 
mediate war.  Permission  was 
accorded  them  to  go  before  the 


Ml. 


king,  whereon  they  announced 

that   Gunther's    old  enemies,  thej^. 


52        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

kings  of  Denmark,  had  sent  an  open  declaration  of 
war. 

The  simulated  messengers  were  shown  to  their 
apartments,  and  Siegfried,  not  suspecting  that  this 
was  a  conspiracy  against  himself,  proffered  his  sup- 
port to  the  Burgundian  king.  In  consequence  of 
this  show  of  good-will  Gunther  seemed  much  cheered, 
and  pretended  to  accept  his  friendly  offer.  Siegfried 
counseled  his  sire,  good  King  Sigmund,  to  remain 
at  Gunther's  court  while  he  rode  forth  to  battle. 
The  royal  banner  was  unfurled  as  if  the  army  were 
about  to  move  from  thence,  and  few  of  the  knights 
knew  that  the  war  was  a  pretense.  Battle-helms 
and  coats-of-mail  were  bound  to  the  chargers,  and 
many  a  knight  was  equipped  to  march  at  the  trum- 
pet's call. 

"Thrice  happy  me  !"  said  Kriemhilda,  " that  my 
husband  should  be  one  who  can  support  my  dearest 
kin  in  their  need;  hence  will  I  be  of  good  cheer." 
Nevertheless  she  feared  for  Siegfried's  safety,  and 
appealed  to  Hagen  to  befriend  her  lord  in  case  of 
danger.  Hagen  gladly  promised  to  respond  to  her 
wishes  and  shield  him  from  all  peril,  whether  he 
should  walk  or  ride,  and  asked  in  Avhat  way  Siegfried 
would  be  most  certain  to  lose  his  life.  Thus  beguiled, 
poor  Kriemhilda  imparted  to  the  crafty  knight  the 
secret  of  Siegfried's  charmed  life;  how  that  hero  had 
slain  the  dragon,  and  bathing  in  its  blood,  had  ren- 
dered himself  invulnerable   in   all  points  save   one 


THE  DEATH  OF  81E0FR1ED.  53 

small  spot  between  his  shoulders,  which  a  leaf  from  a 
linden-tree  covered  so  that  the  blood  did  not  reach 
it.  Said  Hagen,  "  I  advise  you  forthwith  to  sew  upon 
his  garment  some  small  mark  by  which  I  may  know 
how  best  to  protect  the  spot  amid  the  din  of  the  con- 
flict." "  That  will  I  do/'  replied  Kriemhilda,  little 
thinking  that  she  was  betraying  her  lord;  and 
Hagen  went  on  his  way  smiling. 

Then  the  conspirators  were  in  their  most  cheerful 
vein,  and  next  morning,  at  the  rise  of  the  sun,  Sir  Sieg- 
fried rode  forth  with  his  thousand  knights,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  Hagen,  who,  when  he  saw  the  mark  which 
Kriemhilda  had  embroidered,  caused  two  messengers 
to  meet  them  bringing  news  of  peace  from  Denmark. 
Siegfried  was  so  vexed  at  returning  peaceably  to  the 
court  at  "Worms  that  Gunther's  men  had  much  ado 
to  cause  him  to  halt.  Gunther  loaded  him  with 
thanks  for  his  kind  intentions,  and  proposed  that 
they  should  ride  into  the  woods  and  try  the  charms 
of  the  hunt,  since  no  excuse  remained  for  carrying  on 
the  war. 

'  They  returned  to  the  castle  for  tracksmen  and 
hounds,  determined  at  the  next  dawn  to  set  out  on 
the  path  of  the  wolf  and  the  deer  in  the  forest. 

Before  departing,  Siegfried  went  to  Kriemhilda's 
chamber  to  bid  her  farewell.  "  God  grant,"  he  said, 
"when  I  return  I  find  thee  in  glad  health,"  and 
therewith  he  planted  kisses  on  her  lips  and  folded  her 
to  his  heart.     Now  slie  remembered  tlie  secret  mark 


54        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

which  she  hud  embroidered  for  Hagen's  notice,  a7id  as 
it  crossed  her  mind  she  began  to  weep  bitterly.  "  My 
dear  lord,  I  pray  you,  do  not  go  to  the  hunt,"  she 
said.  "  I  dreamed  last  night  that  you  would  pursue 
the  prey  over  the  heath,  when  two  wild  boars  gave 
you  chase,  and  the  field-flowers  all  turned  red.  My 
heart  forbodes  some  dire  mishap.  Go  not,  dear  lord. 
Remain  at  Worms  and  heed  my  fears,  lest  revenge 
rankle  in  the  minds  of  Brunhilda's  chiefs  and  they 
purpose  ill  to  you." 

But  the  gentle  knight,  feeling  no  enmity  himself, 
could  not  be  persuaded,  and  once  more  caressing  his 
wife,  with  her  reluctant  leave  departed. 

The  hunting-jDarty,  in  search  of  pastime,  rode  far 
out  into  the  woods,  followed  by  the  king  and  Sieg- 
fried. The  tracksmen  took  their  f)roper  stations, 
ready  to  drive  the  game  or  show  the  paths.  The 
men  and  hounds  were  equally  parted,  and  the  hunters 
took  their  diverse  ways.  Sir  Siegfried,  with  an  old, 
huntsman,  a  single  hound,  and  a  well-trained  beagle, 
separated  from  the  rest,  and  soon  had  slain  many  wild 
creatures,  amongst  them  two  monstrous  boars,  when 
the  knight  tied  up  his  hound  and  desisted  from 
further  sport. 

Four-and-twenty  hounds  had  been  loosed  by  the 
other  huntsmen,  and  so  much  game  had  been  cap- 
tured that  Hagen  and  his  friends  began  to  triumph 
in  the  thought  that  they  had  proved  themselves 
better  hunters   than  Siegfried;    but  when  they  all 


THE  DEATH  OF  8IE0 FRIED.  55 

were  come  to  headquarters,  it  was  found  that  the 
knight  had  brought  to  camp  more  game  than  all  of 
the  other  hunters  combined.  On  his  way  to  the  camp 
he  had  captured  a  bear  whose  four  paws  he  bound  so 
firmly  that  it  could  do  no  harm.  At  the  hearth- 
spot  he  unloosed  him  to  give  sport  to  the  company, 
when  the  bear,  affrighted  at  the  noise,  ran  into  the 
kitchen-camp,  upsetting  caldrons  and  dispensing 
roasts  which  lay  in  the  ashes.  The  cooks  and  basting- 
boys  rolled  over  each  other  in  affright,  and  the  hunts- 
men with  all  their  hounds  followed  the  beast,  whose 
course  lay  toward  the  mountains.  But  none  could 
approach  the  grisly  monster  save  Siegfried,  who  fell 
upon  him  with  his  sword  Balmung,  and  shortly  dis- 
l^atched  him.  Those  who  saw  the  conflict  praised 
his  matchless  strength,  and  they  all  returned  to  where 
the  hearth-fire  glowed.  There  they  formed  a  goodly 
company  around  the  table,  which  was  decked  in  royal 
fashion,  but  no  wine  had  yet  arrived.  Then  said 
Siegfried,  "  I  marvel  that  from  the  royal  kitchen  they 
have  sent  no  wine.  Seven  sumpters  bearing  the  Joy- 
giving  draught  should  have  been  here  ere  our  feast. 
As  that  could  not  be,  why  did  you  not  encamp  closer 
to  the  Rhine  ?"  To  this  Hagen  replied,  "  Noble  and 
lofty  knight,  I  see  a  matchless  stream  of  bright  water. 
It  may  prove  a  welcome  beverage;  so  please  you  we 
will  go  to  it."  Then  said  Siegfried,  "  Let  us  have  a 
running-match  to  the  spring  where  we  shall  quench 
our  thirst.     The  highest  praise  be  his  who  first  gains 


56        rilE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  TLTAT). 

the  distant  object."  "So  bo  it,"  said  stout  Hagen; 
"  and  if  you  gain,  I  will  kneel  at  your  feet." 

Then  did  they  doft'  their  hunting-suits,  and  bound 
like  two  fierce  panthers  down  the  pathway,  Siegfried 
carrying,  his  shield,  his  javelin,  and  the  sword  which 
he  prized  so  greatly.  lie  gained  the  race,  and  quickly 
putting  aside  his  sword  and  javelin,  knelt  at  the  spring 
to  quench  his  thirst.  As  he  lay  extended  there  Hagen 
thrust  his  sword  through  the  broidered  mark  to  Sieg- 
fried's heart;  and  though  wounded  unto  death,  the 
hero  arose  and  smote  him  so  powerfully  that  the 
plains  and  hills  resounded  with  the  blows.  Ere  long 
death's  pale  seal  was  stamped  upon  Siegfried's  manly 
face,  and  amid  the  sweet  field-flowers  the  matchless 
king  fell. 

With  his  dying  breath  the  wounded  knight  spake 
out :  "  All  regret  is  for  my  wife,  Kriemhilda,  so 
dear  to  me.  Let  her  receive  protecting  graciousness 
and  brother-love."  The  flowers  all  about  were  red 
with  Siegfried's  blood,  and  so  died  the  gallant  chief 
of  the  Netherlands.  The  knights  laid  him  on  a  red- 
gold  shield,  and  consulted  together  how  they  might 
best  succeed  in  concealing  the  true  cause  of  his  death, 
and  they  agi'eed  to  tell  Kriemhilda  that  her  spouse 
would  hunt  alone  and  so  was  slain  by  robbers.  Then 
said  the  ireful  Hagen,  "  What  care  I  who  knows  that 
it  was  I  who  killed  the  knight  who  could  so  wound 
our  own  high-born  queen  ?" 


THE  BURIAL   OF  SIEGFRIED. 


57 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE   BURIAL   OF    SIEGFRIED. 


AGEN  gave  commands  to  his  men 
to  place  the  red-gold  shield  bear- 
ing the  lifeless  form  and  the 
powerful  weapons  of  Siegfried 
before  Kriemhilda's  door,  where 
she  perforce  mnst  find  it.  At 
^  'A^  the  usual  time  the  minster 
i^>^^  bell  summoned  the  pious 
lv  i^V  to  prayers,  and  Kriemhilda 
'' i'  "^1  rose  and  waked  her  maids, 
^  and  bade  them  bring  a  light 
and  send  her  robing-maid  to 
her.  As  they  left  the  cham- 
ber to  go  to  mass,  Kriemhilda  saw  the  slaughtered 
Siegfried,  and  she  cried  out  in  heart-rending  tones, 
"  Woe's  me  !  there  liest  thou  with  thy  shield  un- 
injured by  noble  combatants  in  fight,  which  proves 
that  thou  hast  been  treacherously  slain.  Would  that 
I  knew  who  did  the  deed  !  His  death  should  be  ray 
only  care,"     The  dames  and   maids  all   joined  her 


58        THE  STOUT  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

in  a  shrill  lament.  Then  the  much-afflicted  queen 
speedily  summoned  Sir  Siegfried's  loyal  knights,  who 
sprang  from  their  downy  beds  and  hurried  to  where 
Kriemhilda  knelt  beside  her  chief.  King  Siegmund 
came  and  pressed  his  dead  son  to  his  heart,  and  wail- 
ings  of  distress  echoed  through  the  halls  in  Gunther's 
palaces,  till  the  thick  walls  of  Worms  returned  the 
echoes. 

All  that  was  done  could  not  in  the  least  console  Sieg- 
fried's distressed  wife.  The  knights  of  the  Netherland 
bound  on  their  shields,  burning  to  avenge  their  lord's 
death  tliere  and  then ;  but  Kriemhilda  and  Siegmund 
counseled  them  to  wait  for  vengeance  until  some  more 
propitious  time,  since  they  must  of  necessity  be  over- 
powered by  numbers.  Then  they  ordered  a  cunning 
smith  to  provide  a  gold  and  silver  coffin  in  which 
they  laid  tlie  gentle  king,  and  the  mourners  followed 
it  to  the  minster.  Guntlier  and  his  men  stood  at 
the  minster  porch  as  the  procession  came  up  to  it, 
wliile  mournful  peals  were  ringing,  and  holy  priests 
chanted  funeral  dirges.  As  Hagen  approached  the 
bier,  the  wounds  of  the  slaughtered  man  began  to 
bleed  afresh,  and  Hagen's  guilt  was  plain  to  the  holy 
men  and  to  Kriemhilda,  although  Gunther  declared 
that  the  hero  had  been  slain  by  forest-robbers.  Then 
said  the  sad  wife,  "  It  was  thou  who  slewest  the  knight, 
and  through  his  friends  and  the  Almighty  God  shalt 
thou  feel  my  vengeance."  When  it  was  known  that 
the  priests  chanted  within  the  church,  crowds  went 


1 


THE  BURIAL  OF  SIEGFRIED.  59 

there,  taking  oblations  for  Siegfried's  soul  and  sacri- 
fices of  prayers. 

He  did  not  want  for  friendly  hearts  among  enemies 
and  snares.  Gold  was  doled  out  bounteously  for  the 
repose  of  his  dear  soul,  and  a  hundred  masses  were 
sung  for  him  daily.  When  the  singing  was  over, 
the  people  retired  to  the  tov/n ;  l)ut  Kriemhilda  and 
her  friends  tarried  to  wail  and  watch  through  the 
night,  and  the  weeping  queen  raised  the  fair  head  of 
the  handsome  knight,  and  kissing  his  pale  lips,  fell 
fainting  to  the  ground.  The  noble  Siegfried  was 
consigned  to  the  earth,  and  his  friends  neither  ate 
nor  drank  for  three  days.  ^ 


60 


rua  STORY  OF  TUE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


CUAPTER    IX. 


kkiemhilda's    revenge. 


OOD  King  Siegmund  sought  au- 
dience with  Kriemhilda  and  said 
to  the  widowed  queen,  "We  have 
become  unwelcome  guests  at  the 
Burgundian  court;  therefore  let  us 
ride  to  the  kingdom  which  is  mine. 
There  thou 


gal  crown  shall  be  at 

thy  command,  as  well  as  fee-service  from  the  Niblung 

land."      But   Kriemhilda's   mother   began   to  inter- 


KRIEMHILBA'S  REVENGE.  61 

cede,  begging  that  she  should  live  contentedly  with 
her  kin ;  to  whom  she  replied,  "  That  cannot  be ; 
how  could  I  bear  to  have  him  in  sight  who  hath 
worked  such  woe  on  me  ?"  Then  the  youthful 
Giselher  said,  "  Sister  so  dear  to  me,  thou  must  re- 
main with  thy  mother  on  score  of  filial  jjiety.  Thou 
shalt  remain  with  thy  brother  Giselher,  who  will  pro- 
vide against  mischance  from  thine  enemies."  Upon 
this  she  promised  Giselher  that  she  would  remain  in 
Burgundy. 

King  Siegmund  advanced  to  Kriemhilda  with 
languid  step,  saying:  "Thy  slaughtered  Siegfried's 
men  stand  waiting  beside  their  horses  for  thy 
goodly  company;  we  have  no  liking  to  remain 
longer  in  Burgundy."  To  him  the  mournful  queen 
replied,  "  I  am  urged  to  stay  in  Worms  with  my  kin- 
dred, since  I  have  none  in  Niblung  realm."  King 
Siegmund,  sorely  hurt,  said  mildly,  "  Be  not  over- 
ruled, beloved  Kriemhilda;  for  your  child's  sake  I 
pray  you  ride  along  with  us.  As  he  grows  toward 
man's  estate  he  will  comfort  you.  Moreover  you  will 
find  our  knights  your  loyal  friends." 

But  Kriemhilda  remained  unmoved,  her  intent 
being  to  stay  i^ear  her  buried  lord,  that  she  might  the 
better  avenge  his  death.  Without  escort  the  Niblung 
knights  rode  homeward  cursing  the  festival,  with 
many  a  resolve  to  visit  Worms  again  and  scourge  the 
enemies  of  their  slaughtered  king. 

During  three  years  and   six   months   Kriemhilda 


62 


777^:  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


mourned  her  buried  lord  with  pious  love.  No  word 
to  Gunther  passed  her  lips,  nor  did  she  see  Hagen  the 
whole  time  lonor.     "With  base  accord  it  was  planned 

by  Gunther  and  Ha- 
gen to  bring  Kriem- 
hilda's  marriage- 
morning  gift 
to  Burgundy. 
W  hen  Sieg- 
fried's treas- 
urer saw  the 
troops  from 
Burgundy 


coming  to  claim 
the  hoard,  he 
liastily  spoke  his  mind  that 
the  marriage-gift  could 
not  be  withheld  from  tlie  widowed  queen.  The 
hoard  was  quickly  transported  to  the  Rhine,  and 
Queen  Kriemhilda  received  it  into  her  custody. 
The  vaults   and   towers  of  Worms  were   filled  be- 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  63 

yond  what  they  could  well  contain  with  the  riches. 
Kriemhilda  gave  great  largesses  to  poor  and  rich, 
which  made  Hagen  counsel  thus  with  Gunther:  "If 
she  live,  we  all  shall  see  that  she  will  gain  liege-service 
from  many  knights,  to  your  gi'eat  loss  and  pain." 
Gunther  replied  that  he  had  promised  never  more  to 
do  her  wrong,  and  that  she  should  have  the  gold 
which  was  her  own.  Hagen,  in  ire,  resolved  to  rob 
her  of  her  treasure;  and  ere  long,  when  with  her 
brother  she  rode  forth  from  AVorms  on  a  visit,  he  pos- 
sessed himself  of  all  the  hoard  and  sunk  it  beneath 
the  waters  of  the  Ehine.  Thus  Kriemhilda  was  op- 
pressed with  fresh  sorrows. 

It  happened  about  those  times  that  Etzel,  ruler  of 
the  Huns,  whose  good  Queen  Helcha  had  died  long 
years  before,  desired  another  bride.  Being  told  of 
the  Burgund  widow,  the  powerful  king  sent  his  chan- 
cellor Rudeger  to  tender  consort-honors  to  Kriem- 
hilda. Taking  with  him  a  valiant  band  of  Hunnish 
warriors  to  ward  off  the  attack  of  thieves,  he  soon 
arrived  in  Burgund-land,  where  he  was  cordially 
received  by  Gunther,  and  he  soon  made  his  embassy 
known.  Then  said  Gunther,  being  courteous-minded, 
"  Kriemhilda  would  but  follow  my  wishes  should  she 
feel  inclined  to  take  the  Hunnish  king  as  her  wedded 
lord.  You  shall  know  of  her  decision  ere  three  days 
are  over." 

Then  Gunther  called  a  council  to  know  if  his 
friends  and  kin  were  of  one  accord  that  she  should 


64        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

marry  Etzel.  They  all  agreed  except  Hagen,  who  at 
once  foresaw  the  revenge  Kriemhilda  would  take  if 
she  had  so  jiowerful  a  king  as  champion. 

"  In  anger  then  spake  Giselher,  the  handsome  Utie's  son, 
'  Shall  we  then  all  at  your  advice  the  traitor's  garb  put  on  ? 
"What  honor  dictates  for  her  good  must  verily  take  place: 
Howe'er  Sir  Hagen  counsel  may,  I'll  serve  with  honest 
face  ! ' 

"  When  that  the  wily  Hagen  heard,  he  was  of  restless  mind: 
Then  Giselher  and  Gerenot,  knights  royal,  brave,  and 

kind, 
And  reigning  Gunther,  rich  in  gold,  spake  out  with  one 

assent : 
'  If  'tis  Kriemhilda's  wish  to  wed,  she  shall  have  our  con- 
sent ! '  " 

Margi-ave  Garie  went  at  once  with  delight  to  tell 
the  welcome  news  to  Kriemhilda,  who  received  him 
most  graciously;  but  when  she  heard  his  message  she 
exclaimed :  "  Forbid  it  Heaven  that  my  friends  should 
mock  me,  the  overburdened  child  of  grief  I"  and 
none  could  persuade  the  queen  or  arouse  her  self-love. 
The  courtly  knight  then  humbly  implored  her  to  re- 
ceive King  Etzel's  messenger,  which  favor  she  will- 
ingly accorded.  Xothing  could  hap  more  to  please 
the  noble  Eudeger  than  that  she  would  see  King 
Etzel's  messenger,  who  found  her  in  the  simple  dress 
she  wore  every  day,  while  her  dames  and  waiting- 
maids  wore  very  splendid  gear.  She  rose  to  meet  the 
margrave,  who  proffered  her  King  Etzel's  royal  love 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  65 

and  further  pledged  her  twelve  ample  realms,  thirty 
duchies,  and  a  host  of  powerful  knights ;  and  he  swore 
a  knightly  oath  to  enforce  vengeance  on  any  one  who 
should  do  her  wrong.  "  Perchance  I  may  at  last 
work  out  revenge  for  Siegfried's  death,"  thought 
Kriemhilda,  "  since  King  Etzel  has  large  forces  of 
knighthood  and  liegemen  over  whom  I  am  to  hold 
control,  and  with  his  great  riches  I  can  award  pres- 
ents." Anon  she  told  Sir  Kudeger  that  she  would  go 
to  the  land  of  the  Huns.  Then  did  Eckwart,  her 
trusty  chamberlain,  and  his  five  hundred  gallant 
knights  plight  their  eternal  constancy  to  the  fair 
Kriemhilda,  that  they  should  ride  forth  and  abide  in 
Hunland  as  her  lieges;  and  the  active  Giselher  swore 
that  if  his  dear  sister  should  ever  be  in  trouble  he 
would  rashly  ride  into  any  danger  even  in  Etzel's  land 
for  her  sake.  Her  dames  and  maids  took  costly 
dresses  from  out  the  old  cedar-chests,  and  other  rich 
garmentry  long  hoarded  there,  with  twelve  chests  of 
the  purest  gold  ever  wrought,  to  send  before  them 
into  their  lady's  new  kingdom.  And  they  mounted 
prancing  steeds  and  Joined  the  retinue  of  those  who 
for  sheer  loyalty  would  henceforth  abide  with  her. 

Now  when  the  king  knew  the  whole  report,  he  rode 
gallantly  forth  to  meet  his  bride-elect.  Many  were 
the  languages  of  the  bold  knights  who  went  before 
him  or  followed  after.  Never  was  such  an  imposing 
host  seen.  Then  were  squadrons  from  Greece  and 
Russia,  savages,  pagans,  and  Christians  from  east  and 


66 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


from  west,  each  oue  in  the  costume  of  his  own  land, 
and  each  performing  feats  according  to  his  native 
custom.  As  Etzel  proceeded  his  cavalcade  was  con- 
stantly increased  by  powerful  potentates  and  their 
liegemen.  Kriemhilda  met  the  good  king  with  a 
smile  and  a  kindly  kiss,  and  pending  the  time  that 

the  king  held  conversa- 
tion with  her  the  youth- 
ful knights  sought  her 
smile  by  knightly  feats. 
Christian  and  pagan  did 
the  same,  although  much 
unlike  their  style. 

When  the  interview 
was  ended  they  all  rode 
to  Vienna,  where  the 
wedding  ceremony  took 
place  with  all  due  form 
and  under  pleasant  aus- 
pices. Kriemhilda  made 
herself  beloved  of  those 
whom  she  had  never  seen 
before,  by  giving  costly  gifts.  And  the  marriage- 
rite  hilarities  lasted  seventeen  days.  There  never 
was  a  gi-eater  festival  or  a  more  brilliant  display 
of  new  garments;  nor  were  there  ever  given  at 
great  espousals  with  heart-consent  so  many  cloaks  of 
choice  stuffs  and  liberal  measurements.  Friends  and 
visitors  vied  in  giving  to  one  another  such  boons  as 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  67 

one  saw  the  other  crave ;  over-generous  knights  gave 
until  they  had  nothing  left.  Kriemhilda  wept  secret 
tears  for  Siegfried,  but  outwardly  preserved  a  smiling 
face  and  gay  demeanor.  The  cavalcade  moved  on 
towards  Etzel's  burgh,  where  all  were  received  with 
profuse  hospitality  and  the  most  lofty  homage  waa 
done  to  Kriemhilda,  and  the  whole  realm  rejoiced. 

Day  after  day  Kriemhilda  practiced  to  acquire  friends 
through  her  lofty  virtues,  her  kindness,  and  her  gifts. 
She  often  thought  to  herself  that  some  day  she  would 
ask  the  king  to  invite  her  near  kin  to  the  realm  of 
Hungary  for  a  visit.  Thirteen  years  had  elapsed  be- 
fore she  made  Jier  wish  known  to  her  lord,  and  when 
the  good  king  knew  her  mind  he  at  once  called  his 
minstrel-men  of  gentle  birth  and  sent  them  with  full 
purses  and  rich  garments  to  King  Gunther,  graciously 
imploring  him  to  attend  a  summer  festival  in  Hun- 
land,  himself  and  all  his  court. 

When  the  messengers  reached  Worms  they  were 
welcomed  with  good  cheer,  and  they  bowed  to  the 
king  in  the  most  lowly  manner  and  tendered  greet- 
ings from  the  king  and  queen  of  Hungary,  and  also 
their  invitations  to  ride  into  Etzel's  land. 

In  a  counsel  of  selected  friends  Gunther  debated 
whether  it  were  well  to  accept  the  invitation,  and 
with  one  accord  they  all  assented  save  Hagen 
only.  Foreboding  ill,  he  counseled  them  to  re- 
member the  latent  vengeance  .Kriemhilda  had  always 
cherished.     Then  out  spoke  Gemot :  "  Thy  fear  pro- 


68         THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

ceeds  from  a  giiilty  conscience;  wlio  shall  annul 
our  will  to  see  our  sister,  Etzel's  queen  ?"  And 
anotlier  knight  bade  Hagen  stay  at  AYorms,  safe 
from  every  foe,  drinking  the  choicest  wines,  wearing 
splendid  garments  and  wooing  stately  dames.  Then 
Hagen  counseled  them  that  if  they  would  go  forth 
into  Hungary,  to  go  fully  armed;  which  counsel  Gun- 
ther  thought  wise  to  follow,  and  he  bade  his  marshal 
to  gather  troops  that  they  might  be  prepared  against 
the  Huns  if  they  met  with  treachery.  They  dismissed 
the  uneasy  minstrels,  that  they  might  return  to  their 
king  with  divers  presents  of  rare  worth  and  an  accept- 
ance of  the  royal  invitation. 

King  Etzel  wJixed  red  with  sheer  delight  when  the 
minstrels  came  into  his  presence  with  the  tidings 
and  gifts,  and  ail  through  his  burgh  new  chairs  were 
ordered  for  the  loved  visitors  to  come  anon. 

Queen  Utie  besought  her  sons  with  love  and  cau- 
tion to  remain  at  home,  since  she  had  dreamed  that 
all  the  feathered  tribes  of  Burgundy  were  dead.  But 
her  warnings  were  unheeded,  and  with  ten  thousand 
knights  Gunther  and  liis  brothers  set  out  to  visit 
their  sister.  Hagen,  who  knew  the  gi'ouud  well,  was 
leader  of  the  host  and  rode  a  space  before,  keeping  up 
the  sjiirit  of  the  warriors.  Coming  to  the  Danube, 
which  had  overflowed  its  banks,  the  kings  felt  puzzled 
how  to  cross  it,  and  Hagen  started  out  well  armed  to 
find  the  ferryman.  A  little  up-stream  he  heard  a 
splashing  in  the  water  occasioned  by  water-nympha 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  69 

enjoying  a  cool  bath.  Sir  Hagen  got  a  glimpse  of 
them  and  slyly,  advanced  when  they  dived  below  and 
laughed  merrily  at  their  escape.  The  hero  took  their 
clothing  and  began  to  retreat,  when  they  called  out  to 
him  that  if  he  would  return  the  raiment  they  would 
tell  him  the  outcome  of  King  Gunther's  visit  into 
Hungary.  Thereon  he  pledged  to  return  the  cloth- 
ing as  soon  as  they  should  reveal  his  fate.  One  of  the 
nymphs  then  assured  him  of  a  happy  visit  in  King 
Etzel's  land  and  great  honors  in  consequence;  whereon 
the  knight  returned  them  the  garments,  which  they 
quickly  removed  far  beyond  his  reach.  Loudly 
spake  out  another  nymph  to  warn  the  chief  that  the 
first  had  spoken  untruly  lest  she  should  not  recover 
the  clothes,  and  warned  him  of  a  miserable  deatli  for 
all  the  knights  unless  they  at  once  retreated  to  their 
own  land.  And  she  taught  him  how  to  decoy  the 
ferryman  by  craft  and  obtain  his  boat,  if  the  warriors 
should  persist  in  going  into  Hungary. 

The  grim  and  avaricious  ferryman  could  be  induced 
only  through  excessive  bribes  to  take  him  across ;  and 
coming  to  blows,  Hagen  seized  his  own  two-edged 
sword  and  severed  the  boatman's  head  from  its  trunk 
and  threw  him  overboard.  With  tliis  presage  of  ill- 
fortune.  Sir  Hagen  ferried  tlio  knights  over  and  the 
ladies  of  the  train,  besides  all  the  freight.  When  the 
awful  news  spread  from  troop  to  trooj)  that  the  ferry- 
man had  been  slain,  the  jiroud  helmets  of  the  troops 
were  seen  to  stoop  and  cheeks  to  grow  pale,  for  thoughts 


70        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 

of  quickly  coming  deiitli  came  over  the  minds  of  the 
vast  multitude.  On  their  route  toward  Etzel's  burgh, 
as  the  weary  travelers  approached  Rudeger's  land,  they 
found  Sir  Eckwart  fast  asleep,  when  Sir  Hagen  slyly 
took  from  him  his  sword  and  arm-clasps  of  gold. 
Waking,  Sir  Eckwart  lamented  loudly,  and  Ilagen  re- 
turned them  on  pledge  that  he  should  ride  to  the 
castle  of  Sir  Rudeger  to  intercede  for  their  hospitality. 
When  from  his  burgh  Rudeger  descried  EckAvart 
coming  on  a, foaming  steed,  he  thought  the  knight 
had  met  with  foes  and  he  went  to  the  castle-gate  to 
meet  him.  Then  Sir  Eckwart  acquainted  his  host 
with  Hagen *s  message,  and  Rudeger  bade  him  return 
in  all  haste  to  give  them  welcome  to  the  castle-burgh. 
And  Rudeger's  men  mounted  in  haste  to  do  their 
lord's  bidding,  while  the  margrave  went  to  inform  his 
wife,  Gotlind  the  good,  and  their  fair  child,  and  bid 
them  receive  in  most  courteous  way  the  kings  of  Bur- 
gundy, That  tlie  dames  readily  promised,  and  with- 
out more  ado  brought  from  tlieir  chests  a  store  of 
splendid  dresses.  False  color  was  rarely  seen  on  the 
woman's  cheeks,  but  they  wore  on  their  heads  light 
bands  of  ruddy  gold  to  bind  their  shiny  hair  so  that 
it  should  not  be  blown  about  by  the  winds.  AVhen 
the  Burgundian  guests  approached  the  liechlaren 
lord,  he  welcomed  them  warmly,  both  knight  and 
yeomanry,  and  with  due  thought  to  tlie  latter  he  gave 
command  that  their  tents  should  be  pitched  on  the 
dry  and  open  plain  near  the  castle,  where  the  horses 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  71 

could  graze  and  the  men  find  grassy  beds.  The  very 
noble  margravine  and  her  daughter  came  gently  walk- 
ing from  the  burgh,  and  stood  together  surrounded  by 
their  fairest  dames  in  dresses  of  brocade  glittering 
with  gorgeous  gems.  (/ 

Thirty-and-six  of  the  handsome  women,  each  at- 
tended by  an  esquire,  advanced  to  meet  the  Burgun- 
dian  knights,  and  the  margrave  bade  his  daughter  kiss 
the  kings  and  their  three  greatest  knights,  as  was  the 
custom.  The  illustrious  visitors  sojourned  four  days 
at  Eudeger's  hall,  and  were  entertained  sumptuously 
with  banquetings  and  pastimes,  and  sent  on  their  way 
provided  with  liberal  gifts,  Eudeger  himself  escorting 
them  to  the  boundary  of  his  realm.  Giselher  took 
leave  of  the  margrave's  lovely  daughter,  to  whom  he 
had  plighted  his  troth,  with  most  affectionate  salute, 
and  many  a  dame  shed  briny  tears  as  they  rode  away. 

The  messengers,  riding  with  speed,  now  came  into 
Etzel's  court,  bringing  accounts  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Burgundians  on  Hunnish  ground ;  and  Etzel  bade  his 
queen  receive  them  graciously.  Kriemhilda  hastened 
to  a  window  to  see  if  her  friends  were  in  view,  and 
afar  off  descried  the  Burgund  host.  When  the  good 
king  heard  that,  he  laughed  for  very  joy.  Tlien  said 
Etzel's  queen,  "  Here  come  my  kin  in  panoply,  with 
blazing  shields  tliat  mock  tlie  sun.  Whoever  desires 
my  gold  and  bears  my  ills  in  mind,  him  will  I  hold  in 
my  heart's  core."  Then  did  many  a  Hunnish  knight 
peer  anxiously  to  get  sight  of  Hagen,  the  slayer  of 


72 


TEE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


Siegfried.  He  was  a  chief  of  stately  form,  with  broad 
chest,  amj)le  shoulders,  gi'ay  hair,  long  legs  and  stout 
thighs.  His  face  had  a  fierce  mien,  and  he  strode 
with  a  warlike  air.  Palatial  apartments  were  given 
to  the  valiant  knights,  but  the  yeomanry  were  placed 
at  a  great  distance  from  their  leaders ;  so  had  Kriem- 
hilda  planned  that  they  might  meet  a  woful  fate. 

As  Sir  Gunther,  the  king  of  the 
Rhine,  was  entering  the  palace-hall, 
King  Etzel  sprang  from  his 
seat  of  state  and  gave  him  sncli 
a  kindly  welcome  as  kings  sel- 
dom get.  Greeting  the  brave 
brothers  also,  and  the  knights 
of  high  degree,  Etzel  brought 
them  to  the  royal  seat  whereon 
himself  had  sat,  and  regaled 
them  with  wine  in  golden  bowls. 
And  he  told  them  with  all 
honesty  of  soul  that  he  had 
*^^^|fi|  long  marveled  that  his  con- 
~  ^^=1^  sort's  friends  had  never  felt 
disposed  to  ride  into  the  Hunnish  realm.  When 
the  supper  was  announced,  Etzel  sat  amidst  his 
guests,  who  were  served  with  all  that  tongue  could 
desire ;  and  when  the  eve  had  spent  itself,  the  weary 
travelers  were  dismissed  to  their  dreams. 

The  Huns  crowded  to  see  the  Burgundian  visitors, 
but  were  warned  in  the  most  discourteous  manner 


KRIEMHILDA'S  REVENGE.  73 

to  stand  back  by  Volcher,  the  minstrel-knight,  called 
the  fiddle-man.  Soon  the  gallant  guests  laid  them- 
selves to  rest  on  downy  beds  filled  with  feathers, 
beneath  canopies  of  bright  Arab  silk  and  coverlids 
of  snowy  ermine.  Fearing  lest  Kriemhilda's  ven- 
geance should  meet  them  unaware,  Hagen  stood 
sentinel  through  the  night,  and  brave  Volcher  bore 
him  company.  He  sat  upon  a  stone  and  played  his 
viol  until  its  sweet  tones  had  lulled  all  the  com- 
pany to  sleep. 

During  the  night  the  two  watchers  descried 
many  of  the  Huns  peering  at  the  sleepers  from 
behind  the  palace-doors  and  from  other  lurking- 
places.  Volcher  would  have  fallen  on  them  to  slay 
them,  but  Hagen  counseled  caution.  Thereon  did 
Volcher  shout  to  the  Huns,  who  ran  in  fear.  The 
queen  received  each  report  from  the  Hunnish  knights, 
and  quickly  changed  her  mode  of  plot.  She  laid  all 
her  misfortunes  before  the  brother  of  King  Etzel, 
promising  great  riches  and  a  beautiful  wife  if  he 
would  only  avenge  her  wrongs. 

When  the  knight  bethought  him  to  win  a  beau- 
teous wife  through  daring  deeds,  he  kindled  a 
brawl  which  resulted  in  his  own  death  and  the  re- 
pulse of  his  men  by  the  Burgundian  yeomanry. 
But  Etzel's  knights  advanced  on  the  unarmed  yeo- 
manry and  slew  nine  thousand  of  them  in  retalia- 
tion for  the  life  of  the  king's  brother.  The  festivities 
were  turned   into   scenes  of  general  slaughter,  and 


74        THE  STORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  ILIAD. 


many  were    the    challenges    accepted    and    combats 
fought. 

When  other  resources  failed,  King  Etzel  called  in 
Sir  Rudeger  and  all  of  his  forces,  and  the  unwilling 
margrave  entered  into  the  conflict  with  the  beloved 
guests  he  had  so  generously  entertained  at  his  own 

castle.  The  war  con- 
tinued until  nearly  every 
Burgundian  knight  was 
^  slain.  Then  the  queen 
went  to  Hagen  and  de- 
manded the  restoration 
of  her  Nibelungen  hoard, 
plied  that  the 


place  of  its  concealment  should  never  be  revealed 
as  long  as  the  king  lived.  So  Kriemhilda  caused  her 
brother's  head  to  be  severed  from  his  body  and  taken 
to  Hagen,  who  still  refused  to  tell  where  the  hoard 
was  hidden.  Kriemhilda's  wrath  and  vengeance 
being  thus  aggravated    beyond   bounds,   she   seized 


KRIEMHILDA'8  REVENGE.  75 

Siegfried's  sword  Balmung  and  smote  Hagen's  head 
from  off  its  trunk. 

"  '  Alas! '  the  Hun  king  sighing  said, '  how  does  the  matter 

stand 
That  he,  the  boldest  of  all  knights,  should  fall  by  woman's 

hand? 
He  who  in  onslaught  was  the  first,  the  bravest  that  bore 

shield  ! 
Although  he  was  mine  enemy,  I  fain  to  sorrow  yield.' 

"  Then  spake  the  ancient  Hildebrand,  'She  shall  no  gainer 

be 
Through  this  same  deed  of  deadly  hate,  whate'er  becomes 

of  me  ! ' 
Thereon  did  Master  Hildebrand  run  at  the  fair  Kriemhild, 
And  smote  so  with  his  keen-edged  sword  that  he  the  Hun 

queen  killed." 


STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  MYTH 
OF   BRUNHILDA. 


I. 

THE   SLEEPING    BEAUTY. 

In  times  past  there  lived  a  king  and  queen  who 
said  to  each  other  every  da}^  of  their  lives,  "  Would 
that  we  had  a  child  !"  and  yet  they  had  none.  But  it 
happened  once  that  when  the  queen  was  bathing, 
there  came  a  frog  out  of  the  water,  and  he  squatted 
on  the  ground  and  said  to  her,  "  Thy  wish  shall  be 
fulfilled :  before  the  year  has  gone  by  a  daughter  shall 
be  born  to  thee." 

And  as  the  frog  foretold,  so  it  happened;  and  the 
queen  bore  a  daughter  so  beautiful  that  the  king 
could  not  contain  himself  for  joy,  and  he  ordained  a 
great  feast.  Not  only  did  he  bid  to  it  his  relations, 
friends,  and  acquaintances,  but  also  the  wise  women, 
that  they  might  be  kind  and  favorable  to  the  child. 
There  were  thirteen  of  them  in  his  kingdom,  but  as 

*  This  story  is  taken  f i-om  Lucy  Crane's  translation  from  the 
German  of  Grimm.  The  pupils  will  readily  perceive  that  it  is 
greatly  modernized  from  the  earlier  story  of  Brunhild. 

76 


THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY.  11 

he  had  only  provided  twelve  golden  plates  for  them 
to  eat  from,  one  of  them  had  to  be  left  out.  How- 
ever, the  feast  was  celebrated  with  all  splendor;  and 
as  it  drew  to  an  end,  the  wise  women  stood  forward 
to  present  to  the  child  their  wonderful  gifts:  one 
bestowed  virtue,  one  beauty,  a  third  riches,  and  so  on, 
whatever  there  is  in  the  world  to  wish  for.  And 
when  eleven  of  them  had  said  their  say,  in  came  the 
uninvited  thirteenth,  burning  to  revenge  herself,  and, 
without  greeting  or  respect,  she  cried  with  a  loud 
voice, 

"  In  the  fifteenth  year  of  her  age  the  princess  shall 
prick  her  finger  with  a  spindle  and  shall  fall  down 
dead  V 

And  without  speaking  one  more  word,  she  turned 
away  and  left  the  hall.  Every  one  was  terrified  at  her 
saying,  when  the  twelfth  came  forward,  for  she  had  not 
yet  bestowed  her  gift,  and  though  she  could  not  do 
away  with  tlie  evil  prophecy,  yet  she  could  soften  it; 
so  she  said, 

"  The  princess  shall  not  die,  but  fall  into  a  deep 
sleep  for  a  hundred  years." 

!Now  the  king,  being  desirous  of  saving  his  child 
even  from  this  misfortune,  gave  commandment  that 
all  the  spindles  in  his  kingdom  should  be  burnt  up. 
The  maiden  grew  up,  adorned  with  all  the  gifts  of 
the  wise  women ;  and  she  was  so  lovely,  modest,  sweet, 
and  kind  and  clever,  that  no  one  who  saw  her  could 
help  loving  her. 


78  STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  BRUNHILD  A  MYTH. 

It  happened  one  da}^,  she  being  already  fifteen 
years  old,  that  the  king  and  the  queen  rode  abroad, 
and  the  maiden  was  left  behind  alone  in  the  castle. 
She  wandered  about  into  all  the  nooks  and  corners, 
and  into  all  the  clianibers  and  parlors,  as  the  fancy 
took  her,  till  at  last  she  came  to  an  old  tower.  She 
climbed  the  narroAV  winding  stair  which  led  to  a  little 
door  with  a  rusty  key  sticking  out  of  the  lock;  she 
turned  the  key  and  the  door  opened,  and  there  in  the 
little  room  sat  an  old  woman  with  a  spindle,  diligently 
spinning  her  flax. 

"  Good-day,  mother,"  said  the  princess.  "  What  are 
you  doing  ?" 

"  I  am  spinning,"  answered  the  old  woman,  nodding 
her  head. 

"  What  thing  is  that  that  twists  round  so  briskly  ?" 
asked  the  maiden,  and  taking  the  spindle  into  her 
hand  she  began  to  spin ;  but  no  sooner  had  she  touched 
it  than  the  evil  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  and  she  pricked 
her  finger  with  it.  In  that  very  moment  she  fell  back 
upon  the  bed  that  stood  there,  and  lay  in  a  deep  sleep. 

And  this  sleep  fell  upon  the  whole  castle;  the 
king  and  queen,  who  had  returned  and  were  in  the 
great  hall,  fell  fast  asleep,  and  with  them  the  whole 
court.  The  horses  in  their  stalls,  the  dogs  in  the 
yard,  the  pigeons  on  the  roof,  the  files  on  the  wall, 
the  very  fire  that  flickered  on  the  hearth,  became  still 
and  slept  like  the  rest;  and  the  cook  who  was  going 
to  pull  the  scullion's  hair  for  some  mistake  he  had 


THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY.  79 

made,  let  him  go  and  went  to  sleep.  The  wind  slept, 
and  not  a  leaf  fell  from  the  sleeping  trees  about  the 
castle. 

Then  round  about  that  place  there  grew  a  hedge 
of  thorns  thicker  every  year,  until  at  last  the  whole 
castle  was  hidden  from  view,  and  nothing  of  it 
could  be  seen  but  the  vane  on  the  roof.  And  a 
rumor  went  abroad  in  all  that  country  of  the  beautiful 
sleeping  Eosamond,  for  so  the  princess  was  called; 
and  from  time  to  time  many  kings'  sons  came  and 
tried  to  force  their  way  through  the  hedge;  but  it 
was  impossible  for  them  to  do  so,  for  the  thorns  lield 
fast  together  like  strong  hands,  and  the  young  men 
were  caught  by  them,  and  not  being  able  to  get  free, 
there  died  a  lamentable  death. 

Many  a  long  year  afterwards  there  came  a  king's  son 
into  that  country,  and  heard  an  old  man  tell  how  there 
should  be  a  castle  standing  behind  the  hedge  of  thorns, 
and  that  there  a  beautiful  enchanted  princess  named 
Eosamond  had  slept  for  a  hundred  years,  and  with  her 
the  king  and  queen  and  the  whole  court.  The  old 
man  had  been  told  by  his  grandfather  that  many 
king's  sons  had  sought  to  pass  the  thorn-hedge,  but 
had  been  caught  and  pierced  by  the  thorns,  and  had 
died  a  miserable  death.  Then  the  young  man  said, 
"Nevertheless,  I  do  not  fear  to  try;  I  shall  make  my 
way  through  and  see  the  lovely  Eosamond."  The 
good  man  tried  to  dissuade  him,  but  he  would  not 
listen  to  his  words. 


80  STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  BRUNHILD  A  MYTH. 

For  now  the  hundred  years  were  at  an  end,  and  the 
day  had  come  when  Rosamond  should  be  awakened. 
When  the  prince  drew  near  the  hedge  of  thorns,  it 
was  changed  into  a  hedge  of  large,  beautiful  flowers, 
which  parted  and  bent  aside  to  let  him  pass,  and  then 
closed  behind  him  in  a  thick  hedge.  When  he 
reached  the  castle-yard,  he  saw  the  horses  and  brindled 
hunting-dogs  lying  asleep,  and  on  the  roof  the 
pigeons  were  sitting  with  their  heads  under  their 
wings.  And  when  he  came  indoors,  the  flies  on  the 
walls  were  asleep,  the  cook  in  the  kitchen  had  his 
hand  uplifted  to  strike  the  scullion,  and  the  kitchen- 
maid  had  the  black  fowl  on  her  lap  ready  to  pluck. 
Then  he  mounted  higher,  and  saw  in  the  hall  the 
whole  court  lying  asleep,  and  above  them,  on  their 
thrones,  slept  the  king  and  the  queen. 

And  still  he  went  farther,  and  all  was  so  quiet 
that  he  could  hear  his  own  breathing;  and  at  last 
he  came  to  the  tower,  and  went  up  the  winding 
stair,  and  opened  the  door  of  the  little  room  where 
Eosamond  lay.  When  he  saw  her  looking  so  lovely 
in  her  sleep,  he  could  not  turn  away  his  eyes;  and 
presently  he  stooped  and  kissed  her,  and  she  awaked, 
and  opened  her  eyes,  and  looked  very  kindly  on 
him.  And  she  rose,  and  they  went  forth  together, 
and  the  king  and  the  queen  and  the  whole  court 
waked  up,  and  gazed  on  eachi  other  with  great  eyes 
of  wonderment.  The  horses  in  the  yard  got  up 
and  shook  themselves,  the  hounds   sprang  up  and 


THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY. 


81 


wagged  their  tails,  the  pigeons  on  the  roof  drew  their 

£-^r=,^  t-j,     heads   from   under   their   wings, 

^>4^  V  (^     }o    ^     looked  round,  and  flew  into  the 

^^^&^V'^^~     field,  the  flies  on  the  wall  crept 


x^ 


on  a  little  farther,  the  kitchen 
fire    leapt    up    and    blazed    and 
cooked  the  meat,  the  joint  on  the  spit 
began  to  roast,  the  cook  gave  the  scullion 


82  STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  BRUNHILD  A  MYTH 

such  a  box  on  the  ear  that  he  roared  out,  and  the 
maid  went  on  plucking  the  fowl. 

Then  the  wedding  of  the  Prince  and  Kosamond  was 
held  with  all  splendor,  and  they  lived  together  very 
happily  until  their  lives  ended. 


PROSERPINE. 


83 


II. 


PKOSEKPINE,  THE    SLEEPING   BEAUTY   OF   GREEK 
CLASSIC   LITERATURE. 

Ceres,  goddess  of  the  golden  grain,  was  the  first  to 
turn  up  the  clods  with 
the  crooked  plow;  she 
was  the  first  to  give  corn 
and  other  wholesome 
food  to  the  earth;  she 
gave  wheat  also  and  all 
the  fruit-yielding  seeds, 

*  This  story  is  compiled 
from  Riley's  translation  of 
Ovid.  It  is  Greek  in  spirit, 
though  coming  to  us 
through  a  Latin  poet  and 
colored  by  Latin  thought. 
Fiske  says  of  the  story : 
' '  In  the  myth  of  the  Sleep- 
ing Beauty,  the  earth-god- 
dess sinks  into  her  long 
winter  sleep  when  pricked 
by  the  point  of  the  spindle" 
(frost).  ' '  In  her  cosmic 
palace  (the  universe)  all  is 
locked  in  icy  repose,  naught  thriving  save  the  ivy  which 
defies  the  cold,  until  the  kiss  of  the  golden-haired  sun-god 
reawakens  life  and  activity." 


84  STORIES  BELATED  TO  THE  BRUNHILD  A  MYTH. 

and  she  possessed  great  treasures  of  gold  and  silver 
in  the  earth.  Oeres  had  one  daughter  whose  name 
was  Proserpine,  and  in  the  springtime,  when  all 
the  land  was  covered  with  flowers,  men  said  to  each 
other,  "  Proserpine  has  come ;  the  daughter  of  the 
earth  is  here  in  all  her  beauty." 

In  the  middle  of  a  great  island  there  is  a  beautiful 
city  near  a  lake  of  deep  waters.  A  forest  surrounds 
the  lake  on  every  side,  and  with  its  foliage,  as  though 
with  an  awning,  keeps  out  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The 
boughs  keep  the  place  cool,  and  the  moist  ground  pro- 
duces flowers  of  purple  hue.  There  it  is  perpetual 
spring.  In  this  grove  Proserpine  played,  plucking 
violets  and  lilies.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  she  filled  her 
basket  in  child-like  eagerness  with  the  lovely  flowers, 
while  her  young  companions  strove  to  outdo  her,  that 
Pluto,  the  god  of  the  infernal  regions,  beheld  her,  and 
seized  her  that  he  might  carry  her  ofl:  to  his  drear 
abode  as  his  bride.  For  Pluto's  heart  had  been  pierced 
by  the  arrow  of  Cupid  through  a  command  laid  upon 
him  by  Venus,  the  goddess  of  Love. 

It  was  said  that  a  struggling  giant  lay  in  the  realms 
of  Pluto,  a  giant  whom  Pluto  kept  weighed  down 
under  great  mountains,  ^tna  was  upon  his  head, 
and  other  mountains  upon  his  limbs  and  feet.  The 
giant  often  cast  forth  flames  and  smoke  from  his 
mouth  in  his  attempts  to  throw  off  the  load,  and  roll 
away  the  cities  and  mountains  from  his  body. 

Pluto  stood  in  great  dread  lest,  as  the  giant  shook 


PROSERPINE.  85 

the  earth,  the  ground  should  open  and  the  day  be  let 
in  to  affright  the  trembling  ghosts.  So  he  surveyed 
all  the  land  and  the  foundations  under  it  to  be  sure 
that  no  place  was  insecure,  and  he  drove  forth  from 
his  dark  abode  in  his  chariot  drawn  by  black  horses, 
and  he  wandered  about  the  mountains.  Then  Venus 
said  to  her  little  winged  son,  "Thou  subduest  the 
gods  above  and  the  deities  who  rule  in  the  waters. 
Why  are  the  realms  beneath  the  earth  exempt  from 
thy  power  and  mine  ?  A  third  part  of  the  world  is 
at  stake.  The  daughter  of  Ceres,  too,  has  never  been 
conquered  by  Love.  Do  thou  aim  thy  dart  at  this 
dread  ruler  of  the  Dead  while  he  drives  his  coal-black 
steeds  through  the  groves  of  Proserpine,  and  the  god 
shall  be  joined  to  Proserpine  in  wedlock,  and  hence- 
forward we  shall  hold  sway  in  the  realms  of  Tartarus." 
So  Cupid  opened  his  quiver  and  took  one  of  his 
thousand  unerring  darts,  and  bending  his  bow,  struck 
Pluto  in  the  breast  with  the  barbed  arrow,  and  the 
god  at  once  beheld  the  maiden  and  loved  her. 

Affrighted  at  the  overpowering  strength  of  the 
grim  monarch,  Proserpine  called  to  her  mother  and 
her  companions,  while  the  flowers  she  had  collected 
fell  scattered  over  the  ground.  Pluto  drove  on, 
encouraging  his  horses,  calling  each  by  name  as  he 
shook  the  reins  which  were  dyed  by  rust.  He  was 
borne  through  deep  lakes  and  pools  smelling  strong 
of  sulphur  and  boiling  fresh  from  out  the  earth, 
which  burst  asunder  where  he  threw  down  his  royal 


86  STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  BRUNHILBA  MTTH. 

scepter  and  opened  a  way  down  to  Tartarus,  to  which 
Phito  descended  with  his  young  bride.  In  the  mean- 
time Ceres  sought  for  her  beautiful  daughter  through- 
out all  lands  and  in  every  sea.  Aurora,  coming  with 
her  ruddy  locks  in  the  morning,  never  beheld  her 
resting,  and  the  evening  star  saw  her  still  wandering 
and  searching. 

At  night  she  lighted  pine  branches  and  carried 
them  through  the  frosty  darkness;  and  when  daylight 
dulled  the  light  of  the  stars,  she  sought  her  daughter 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  its  setting.  Tired  out 
and  thirsty,  she  came  to  a  cottage  and  knocked  at  the 
door ;  upon  which  an  old  woman,  coming  out  and  see- 
ing a  goddess,  gave  her  water  distilled  from  pearled 
barley.  But  a  boy  of  impudent  countenance  stood 
before  the  goddess  and  ridiculed  her,  whereupon  his 
body  contracted  into  a  diminutive  form  smaller  than 
a  lizard  and  more  speckled,  and  he  slunk  away  into  a 
hiding-place. 

It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  relate  through  what 
lands  and  seas  the  goddess  passed  searching  for  her 
child.  At  last  she  found  the  girdle  which  the  maiden 
had  thrown  away  as  a  sign  of  her  marriage,  and  the 
mother  knew  that  Proserpine  was  stolen  and  carried 
ofE  as  a  bride.  Upon  this  Ceres  tore  her  hair  and 
struck  her  breast  again  and  again.  And  with  re- 
vengeful hands  she  broke  the  plows  that  had 
turned  up  the  clods,  and  in  her  anger  vowed  that 
death  should  come  to  the  husbandmen  and  the  oxen 


PROSERPINE.  87 

that  cultivated  the  fields,  and  she  ordered  the  land  to 
deny  a  return  of  the  grain  which  had  been  sown  in  it, 
and  to  render  all  seed  corrupt.  The  fertility  of  the 
soil  was  gone.  The  corn  died  in  the  blade,  burned 
by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  rotted  by  the  showers. 
The  stars  and  the  winds  injured  it;  the  greedy  birds 
picked  it  up  as  soon  as  it  was  sown,  and  the  darnel, 
the  thistles,  and  the  unconquerable  weeds  choked  the 
crops  of  wheat.  Then  a  water-nymph  raised  her 
head  from  a  stream  and  said,  "0  thou  mother  of 
the  virgin  sought  over  the  whole  world,  cease  at 
length  thy  boundless  toil,  and  be  not  angered  with 
this  region  of  earth,  for  it  is  faithful  to  thee.  This 
land  does  not  deserve  it.  Proserpine  is  the  powerful 
spouse  of  the  Infernal  King." 

The  mother,  on  hearing  these  words,  stood  amazed, 
and  for  a  long  time  was  like  one  stupefied.  When 
she  could  command  herself,  she  departed  in  her  chariot 
through  the  air,  and  coming  before  Jupiter  with 
disheveled  hair,  said  to  him :  "  I  have  come,  Jupiter, 
as  a  suppliant  to  thee.  I  pray  thee  to  have  regard 
for  my  daughter  so  long  sought  for.  She  is  found  at 
last.  I  pray  that  she  may  be  restored  to  me."  But 
Jupiter  replied,  "  The  king  of  the  Stygian  abodes 
is  my  brother,  and  therefore  it  is  no  disgrace  that  he 
is  thy  son-in-law.  This  deed  is  no  injury  to  thee, 
but  rather  an  honor.  Nevertheless,  if  no  food  has 
passed  the  maiden's  lips,  she  shall  be  restored  to  thee." 
Then  Ceres  resolved  to  fetch  her  daughter  from  the 


88  STOEIES  RELATED  TO  THE  BRUN HILDA  MYTH. 

realms  of  the  Dead.  But  the  Fates  would  not  permit 
it,  for  the  damsel  had  eaten  seven  grains  from  a 
pomegi'anate  which  she  had  plucked  in  the  garden  of 
Hades.  Then  Jupiter,  being  the  mediator  between 
his  brother  and  the  disconsolate  Ceres,  divided  the 
rolling  year  between  them ;  and  Proserpine,  a  common 
divinity  between  the  regions  of  the  dead  and  those  of 
the  living,  was  commanded  to  remain  six  months 
with  her  mother  on  the  earth,  and  six  months  with 
her  husband  in  his  kingdom  below.  When  Ceres 
heard  this  command  her  countenance  changed, 
and  her  brow,  which  of  late  might  appear  sad  even  to 
Pluto  himself,  beamed  with  gladness,  as  the  sun  which 
has  lately  been  covered  with  clouds  shines  forth  when 
the  clouds  are  dispersed.  Then  the  goddess  of  the 
fertile  earth  sent  Triptolemus  forth  with  her  chariot 
to  teach  agriculture  to  men.  The  earth  blossomed, 
and  mortals  rejoiced  that  the  famine  was  over  and 
that  Avinter's  gloom  was  gone. 

Note. — Since  editing  this  story,  the  author  lias  visited  Sicily 
where  Ovid  places  the  scene,  and  the  town  of  Eleusis  in 
Greece  where  Ceres  was  worshiped  and  where  the  ruins  of 
a  magnificent  temple  dedicated  to  her  still  remain.  There 
is  a  good  carriage-road  from  Athens  out  to  Eleusis,  a  dis- 
tance of  twelve  miles.  Leaving  Athens  and  passing  along 
what  was  called  the  "  sacred  way,"  through  great  olive-groves, 
one  reaches  the  ruins  of  an  old  temple  called  Daphni.  Over 
this  road  processions  used  to  go  on  their  way  to  worship  Ceres 
at  Eleusis.  One  can  see  where  their  chariot-wheels  have  worn 
the  rocks.  The  meadows  were  all  abloom  with  lovely  flowers 
of  every  color.     On  leaving   the  carriage  to  gather  some  of 


PROSERPINE.  89 

them,  the  American  Consul's  wife  called  out, "  Take  care  !  Pluto 
will  catch  you  !" 

At  the  well  where  Ceres  was  said  to  have  met  the  king's  daugh- 
ters who  were  kind  to  her  and  tried  to  comfort  her,  the  marble 
curbing  has  deep  ridges  worn  in  it  by  the  ropes  with  which 
people  have  drawn  water  from  it  for  ages.  There  are  traces 
of  a  temple  to  Triptolemus  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which 
stood  the  temple  of  Ceres.  Some  of  the  stones  are  visible  in 
the  walls  of  a  modern  church.  The  temple  to  Ceres  or  Demeter 
must  have  been  wonderfully  grand,  for  the  marble  pillars 
which  lie  along  the  ground  are  exceedingly  large  and  finely 
carved.  There  is  a  large  grotto,  called  Pluto's  Cave,  just 
below  the  temple's  foundations.  A  scrubby  fig  thrusts  a  few 
leaves  from  the  big  bare  rock. 

The  scenery  all  about  the  locality  is  a  marvel  of  beauty.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  this  myth  was  transplanted  by  Roman 
writers  to  Sicily,  for  that,  too,  is  a  land  of  bewildering  loveli- 


STORIES   RELATED   TO  THE  MYTH 
OF   SIEGFRIED. 


I. 

PH(EBUS   APOLLO,   THE   SIEGFKIED    OF    GREEK     LITER- 
ATURE. 

It  is  said  that  Leto  (Darkness)  wandered  over 
many  lands,  seeking  in  vain  for  a  place  of  rest.  At 
last  she  came  to  Delos,  the  land  of  light,  and  said  that 
if  she  could  find  a  home  there,  the  place  should  be- 
come glorious.  It  should  be  the  birthplace  of  Phoe- 
bus ApollOjt  and  men  should  come  from  all  parts  of 
the  earth  to  make  his  holy  temple  rich  with  their 
gifts.  Here  Phoebus  Apollo  was  born,  and  at  his 
birth  the  earth  laughed  beneath  the  smile  of  heaven, 
and  Delos,  although  but  a  stony  island,  was  covered 

*  This  story  is  compiled  from  Riley's  translation  of  Ovid. 

f  Professor  Cox  says;  "  He  [Phoebus  Apollo]  is  called  the  son 
of  Leto  because  night,  as  going  before  his  rising,  may  be  called 
the  mother  of  the  sun.  Delos  means  bright  land.  Phoebus 
was  at  first  only  a  name  for  the  sun,  but  in  later  times  he  was 
regarded  as  the  god  of  light,  who  was  not  confined  to  his  habi- 
tation in  the  sun.  Apollo  is  a  name  explained  by  some  as 
meaning  the  destroyer,  because  the  sun's  rays,  when  powerful, 
can  destroy  the  life  of  animals  and  plants." 

90 


PH(EBUS  APOLLO. 


91 


with  flowers  of  gold.  The  nymphs  wrapped  him  in 
a  spotless  robe.  The  goddess  of  justice  fed  him  with 
nectar  and  ambrosia,  and  the  babe  took  a  harp  with 
golden  strings  in  his  hands  and  sang  songs  to  teach 
men  the  will  of  Jove.  While 
yet  a  child  he  wore  a  girdle 
of  gold  about  his  waist,*  but 
the  girdle  became  a  golden 
sword  and  he  carried  a 
quiver  filled  with  golden 
arrows  which  never 
missed  the  mark. 

Phoebus  passed  through 
many  lands,  until  he  came  to 
a  fountain  where  he  would 
gladly  have  built  a  home. 
But  the  god  of  the  fountain 
told  him  that  he  could  not 
find  a  peaceful  home  in  that 
land,  and  advised  him  to  go  on  until  he  came  to  Crisa. 
This  he  did,  and  built  himself  an  altar  close  to  Mount 
Parnassus.  On  the  shrine  which  he  had  built  he  kin- 
dled an  undying  fire,  and  he  taught  the  people  how  to 
worship  him.     He  charged  them  to  deal  truly,  and  to 

*  The  pupil  will  observe  that  these  descriptions  are  really 
notices  of  various  phenomena  of  nature.  The  sun  is  wrapped 
in  white  clouds  (spotless  robes).  He  is  surrounded  by  a  belt  of 
light  (a  girdle  of  gold).  His  quiver  is  filled  with  arrows  which 
never  miss  the  mark  (the  sun's  rays).  His  goldeu  sword  cor- 
responds to  the  Balmung  of  Siegfried. 


92   STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

be  kind  to  all  who  came  with  their  gifts  to  his  temple. 
There  he  slew  Python,*  a  great  monster  of  daxkness, 
which  kept  the  people  away  from  his  temple.  This 
monster  was  a  great  serpent  which  arose  from  the  wet 
earth,  and  it  was  a  source  of  terror  to  all  the  people 
living  near  the  mountain.  Phoebus  had  never  before 
used  such  arms  except  to  shoot  the  timid  goats  and 
the  deer,  but  now  he  sent  a  thousand  of  his  arrows 
against  the  Python,  and  the  poison  of  the  serpent 
oozed  forth  through  a  thousand  wounds.  To  keep  the 
fame  of  this  deed  in  the  minds  of  men,  Phoebus  com- 
manded that  there  should  be  games  in  which  young 
men  should  run  races,  drive  chariots,  and  box  with 
one  another,  the  conqueror  receiving  as  a  prize  a 
crown  of  beechen  leaves. 

Phoebus  grew  so  proud  of  this  victory  that  Cupid 
became  angry.  He  too  carried  a  bow  and  quiver 
full  of  arrows,  and  claimed  to  be  the  most  skillful 
archer.  Then  Cupid  said  to  Phoebus:  "Let  thy  bow 
shoot  all  things,  Phoebus;  my  arrow  shall  pierce 
thee,  and  thy  glory  shall  be  less  than  mine.*'  And 
Cupid  flew  through  the  air  with  his  beating  wings 
and  stood  upon  the  mountain  of  Parnassus.  And  he 
drew  from  his  quiver  two  arrows,  one  which  would 
breed  hatred,  the  other  love.     The  arrow  of  love  was 

*  The  pupil  will  recognize  in  the  Python  the  great  dragon 
slain  by  Siegfried.  The  sun  dries  up  the  stagnant  waters  of 
shallow  pools  and  the  pestilential  vapors  of  malarial,  swampy 
districts  ;  i.e.,  slaj-s  dragons  and  serpents. 


PHCEBUS  APOLLO.  93 

of  gold  and  had  a  sharp  point.  The  arrow  of  hatred 
was  bhmt  and  contained  lead.  Cupid  shot  the  golden 
arrow  at  Apollo,  but  he  pierced  the  heart  of  a  beauti- 
ful maiden  with  the  blunt  arrow.  At  once  Apollo 
loved  the  maiden  and  tried  to  seize  her,  but  she  fled 
from  him  with  hatred.  Swifter  than  the  wind  did 
she  fly  from  him,  her  hair  streaming  in  the  breeze. 
Apollo  called  to  her,  "  0  nymph !  Stop,  I  pray  thee. 
I  am  not  an  enemy.  Thou  fly  est  from  me  as  the 
Iamb  flies  from  the  wolf,  and  as  the  deer  flies  from 
the  lion.  It  is  because  I  love  tbee  that  I  follow  thee, 
and  that  I  may  woo  thee  for  my  bride.  Run  more 
slowly,  I  pray  thee!  I  myself  will  follow  more 
slowly.  I  am  not  a  rude  dweller  on  the  mountains. 
I  am  not  a  shepherd.  I  am  a  god  in  disguise,  watch- 
ing the  herds.  Thou  knowest  not,  rash  maiden,  from 
whom  thou  art  flying.  Great  cities  pay  service  to 
thee.  Jupiter  is  my  father.  I  am  a  prophet  of  the 
future,  and  I  disclose  the  present  and  the  past.  I 
teach  songs  which  harmonize  with  the  strings.  My 
arrows  never  fail  to  reach  the  mark.  But  there  is  an 
arrow  more  unerring  than  my  own  which  has  made 
this  wound  in  my  heart.  The  healing  art  is  my  dis- 
covery, and  medicines  are  prepared  by  me." 

The  maiden  flew  from  him,  in  spite  of  his  fair 
speech,  with  more  timid  step.  Her  garments  fluttered 
in  the  wind,  and  her  careless  locks  spread  out  behind 
her  on  the  light  breeze,  and  thus  her  flight  gave  in- 
creased beauty  to  her.     The  youthful  god  had  no 


94    STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

longer  patience  to  wa.ste  liis  compliments,  and  lie  fol- 
lowed her  footsteps  with  a  hastening  pace,  as  the 
gi'eyhoiind  pursues  the  hare,  which  imagines  itself 
already  caught  or  barely  delivered  from  the  dog's  bite. 
He  who  followed,  aided  by  the  wings  of  love,  proved 
the  swifter,  and  the  maiden's  strength  being  gone, 
she  grew  pale  and  cried  aloud  to  the  deity  of  a  river, 
"O  father,  if  thou  art  indeed  divine,  give  me  thy 
aid!"  Hardly  had  she  ended  her  prayer  when  a 
heavy  dullness  seized  her.  Her  body  w^as  covered  with 
a  thin  bark;  her  hair  grew  into  green  leaves,  her 
arms  into  branches;  her  feet,  the  moment  before  so 
swift,  adhered  to  the  earth  by  sluggish  roots.  A 
leafy  canopy  overspread  her  features.  Her  fine  nature 
alone  remained  with  her.*  This,  too,  Apollo  admired. 
He  threw  his  arms  around  the  lovely  tree  and  felt  the 
heart  throbbing  beneath  the  bark  which  he  kissed, 
exclaiming,  "  Since  I  cannot  win  thee  for  my  wife, 
thou  shalt  be  my  tree.  My  golden  hair,  my  harp,  and 
my  quiver  shall  always  be  adorned  by  thy  leaves,  0 
laurel!  Thou  shalt  be  presented  to  the  chieftains 
when  the  glad  voices  of  soldiers  sing  songs  of  triumph. 
Thou  shalt  stand  as  a  faithful  guardian  at  the  gate- 
posts of  Augustus,  and  thou  shalt  protect  the  oalj 

*  Apollo  pursues  Daphne;  that  is,  the  sun  pursues  the  dawn, 
■which  ever  flies  toward  the  west  until  it  is  lost  in  the  distant 
forests  (is  changed  into  laurel-trees).  Siegfried  pursues  Brun- 
hild through  fire,  finds  her,  deserts  her  "  under  an  enchant- 
ment," and  pursues  Kriemhilda. 


PHCEBUS  APOLLO.  95 

placed  in  tlie  center/'    Apollo  had  ended  his  speech, 
and  the  laurel  seemed  to  bow  its  head.* 

*  Tlie  pupil  will  readily  distinguisli  liow  mucli  of  this  story 
belongs  to  Greek  thouglit,  and  wliat  part  of  it  is  modernized  by 
the  poet  to  suit  bis  own  age — tbe  age  of  Augustus  Csesar.  In 
the  story  of  Siegfried,  wbicb  is  mucb  more  modernized,  be  will 
see  little  resemblance  to  Apollo  except  in  tbe  slaying  of  tbe 
dragon,  tbe  use  of  solar  weapons,  and  tbe  origin  or  birtb  from 
darkness  or  mist-land.  Siegfried's  deatb  amid  red  field-flowers, 
and  bis  bearse — a  red-gold  sbield, — are  doubtless  related  to  tbe 
ruddy  golden  sunsets — tbe  "  undying  flame  upon  tbe  altar  "  of 
Apollo. 


96    STORIES  BELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH 


PERSEUS. 

Acrisius,  king  of  Argos,  had  been  warned  by  an 
oracle  that  his  daughter  Danae  would  give  birth  to 
a  son  who  would  slay  him  and  usurj)  his  throne,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  king  decreed  that  his 
daughter  should  never  marry;  and  he  gave  command 
that  a  great  brazen  tower  should  be  built  close  to  the 
sea,  and  that  Danae  should  be  imprisoned  in  it  that 
no  mortal  might  ever  see  her.  But  Jupiter  saw  the 
beautiful  girl  and  loved  her,  and  changing  his  form 
into  a  shower  of  gold,  he  shone  into  the  room  where 
the  maiden  sut,  and  he  became  again  a  god  in  form, 
and  wooed  and  won  the  captive. 

To  Jupiter  and  Danae  was  born  Perseus,  the  hero 
who  should  slay  the  great  monster  whose  malarial 
breath  created  untold  suffering  among  mortals,  and 
whose  evil  eye  caused  all  people  who  came  under  its 
gaze  to  turn  to  stone. 

The  precaution  of  the  king  of  Argos  had  come  to 

*  This  story  is  compiled  for  the  most  part  from  Riley's  trans- 
lation of  the  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid. 

The  reader  will  readily  discern  that  Perseus  and  Siegfried 
are  one,  Perseus  being  the  more  ancient  character.  Both  of 
them  possess  the  shield  of  invisibility,  'both  of  them  slay  the 
great  serpent  or  dragon,  both  of  them  are  the  offspring  of  a 
golden  light  (the  power  of  the  sun). 


PERSEUS.  97 

naught;  he  had  insulted  the  gods,  and  had  not  ac- 
knowledged his  grandson  Perseus  when,  having  grown 
to  manhood,  he  flew  through  the  yielding  air  bearing 
the  head  of  the  viperous  monster  which  he  had  slain. 

As  Perseus  flew  over  the  sands  of  the  Libyan 
desert,  bloody  drops  fell  from  the  Gorgon's  head,  and 
the  ground  quickened  them  into  serpents.  Thereafter 
all  the  region  was  infested  with  snakes.  Perseus  was 
carried  on  by  the  fitful  winds  through  boundless 
space,  borne  like  a  Avatery  cloud,  now  here,  now  there, 
and  he  looked  down  on  the  earth,  which  seemed  very 
far  off.  As  the  day  declined,  he  stopped  in  the 
western  part  of  the  Avorld,  in  the  kingdom  of  Atlas. 
There  he  sought  a  little  rest  before  Lucifer  should 
usher  forth  the  fires  of  Aurora,  who  drove  the  chariot 
of  the  morning. 

Atlas  was  the  son  of  a  giant,  and  he  surpassed  all 
other  men  in  the  vastness  of  his  body.  Under  this 
king  was  the  extremity  of  the  earth,  and  the  sea 
Avhich  holds  its  waters  under  the  panting  horses  of 
the  sun,  and  receives  the  wearied  chariot.  Atlas 
possessed  a  thousand  flocks  and  herds  which  wandered 
undisturbed  over  the  pastures,  and  the  trees  in  his 
garden  were  covered  with  branches  laden  with  golden 
apples;  golden  leaves,  too,  glistened  on  every  twig. 
"  My  friend,"  said  Perseus,  "  I  am  a  son  of  Jupiter 
and  I  pray  that  thou  wilt  extend  hospitality  to  me 
and  give  me  a  resting-place  for  the  night."  But 
Atlas  remembered  an  ancient  oracle  which  said  that 


98    STORIES  RELATED  TO  TEE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

his  trees  should  be  stripped  of  their  golden  fruit  by  a 
son  of  Jove;  and  dreading  this,  he  had  inclosed  his 
orchard  with  solid  walls,  and  had  given  it  into  the 
keeping  of  a  huge  dragon;  he  had  expelled  all 
strangers  from  his  territories  also.  And  so  he  replied 
to  Perseus,  "Begone!  Get  thee  far  hence,  lest  the 
glory  of  those  exploits  to  which  thou  falsely  pre- 
tendest  be  far  from  protecting  thee."  He  added 
violence  to  his  threats,  and  tried  to  drive  him  from 
his  doors,  first  by  using  persuasive  words  and  after- 
wards by  abuse. 

Now  when  Perseus  saw  how  much  larger  and 
stronger  Atlas  was  than  himself  he  said,  "  Since  my 
friendship  is  of  so  little  value  to  thee,  accept  this 
present;"  and  turning  his  face  away,  he  held  out 
the  head  of  the  horrid  Gorgon,  Medusa.  Huge  as 
Atlas  was,  yet  he  could  not  resist  the  charm,  and 
was  changed  at  once  into  a  mountain;  his  shoulders 
and  his  hands  became  mountain-ridges,  and  what  was 
formerly  his  head  became  the  summit  of  a  mountain. 
His  bones  became  stones,  and,  enlarged  on  every  side, 
he  grew  to  an  immense  height,  and  the  heavens  and 
all  the  stars  rested  upon  him. 

The  god  of  the  winds,  ^olus,  had  shut  them  up  in 
their  eternal  prison;  and  Lucifer,  who  calls  men  to 
their  work  in  the  morning,  had  risen  in  all  his  splen- 
dor in  the  lofty  sky  when  Perseus  once  more  began 
his  journey.  He  bound  wings  unto  his  ankles,  which 
helped  him  to  rise  into  the  air,  and  girded  weapons 


PERSEUS.  99 

onto  his  side.  As  he  flew  along  over  lands  and  seas,  he 
looked  down  and  beheld  innumerable  nations,  among 
them  the  people  of  Ethiopia  and  the  lands  of  Cepheus, 
where  the  innocent  Andromeda  was  chained  to  a  rock 
to  suffer  punishment  on  account  of  her  mother's  im- 
piety; for  she  had  boasted  that  her  daughter's  beauty 
was  gi'eater  than  that  of  the  daughters  of  Xereus,  king 
of  the  sea.  When  Perseus  saw  Andromeda,  with  her 
arms  bound  to  the  hard  rocks,  the  light  breeze  blow- 
ing her  hair  about,  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  he 
thought  her  at  first  to  be  a  work  of  marble.  He 
was  so  captivated  Avith  her  beauty  that  he  almost 
forgot  to  wave  his  wings  in  the  air.  When  he  had 
lighted  on  the  ground  he  addressed  her,  saying:  "0 
beautiful  maiden,  undeserving  of  these  cruel  chains, 
but  rather  of  the  pleasing  bonds  by  which  lovers  are 
united,  tell  me  the  name  of  this  land,  and  of  thyself 
and  why  thou  art  punished."  At  first  Andromeda 
was  silent  and  hardly  dared  to  reply  to  the  hero,  who 
urged  her  until  she  confessed  the  name  of  the  coun- 
try and  her  mother's  offense. 

Before  she  had  had  time  to  finish  her  story  there 
was  a  great  rushing  of  waves  and  roaring  of  waters, 
and  a  terrible  monster  approached  with  its  head 
raised  out  of  the  boundless  ocean,  and  it  covered  the 
wide  expanse  with  its  breast.  The  virgin  shrieked 
aloud,  fo^  it  had  been  decreed  by  the  god  Ammon 
that  she  should  be  devoured  by  the  sea-beast.  Her 
father  and  mother,  who  were  there,  clung  to  Androm- 


100  STORIES  RELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

eda  with  loud  lamentations  of  woe.  Then  Perseus 
said,  "  There  is  but  little  time  for  giving  aid,  but 
there  will  be  an  abundance  of  time  for  mourning  if 
the  maiden  be  slain.  If  I  were  to  demand  thy 
daughter  in  marriage,  I  ought  to  be  preferred  before 
all  others  as  your  son-in-law,  for  I  am  the  son  of 
Jupiter  and  the  conqueror  of  the  Gorgon  with  the 
snaky  locks.  I  pray  that  the  maiden  may  be  my 
bride  if  I  rescue  her  by  my  valor."'  Her  parents 
embraced  the  condition,  for  who  could  hesitate  at 
such  a  moment  ?  They  entreated  his  aid,  and 
promised  a  kingdom  as  a  dowry.  The  monster  came 
on,  its  head  high  above  the  waters  like  a  great  ship, 
when  suddenly  the  youth  rose  into  the  air,  casting 
a  black  shadow  upon  the  surface  of  the  Avater  in 
front  of  the  monster.  When  the  great  serpent  saw 
the  shadow  on  the  water,  he  imagined  it  to  be 
the  hero  himself,  and  began  to  vent  his  fury  upon 
it.  As  the  eagle  of  Jupiter  fastens  its  talons  on  the 
back  of  a  snake  when  attacking  it,  so  that  it  may  not 
turn  its  head  and  inflict  a  poisonous  bite,  so  did 
Perseus  throw  himself  upon  the  back  of  the  monster, 
close  to  its  neck,  and  thrust  his  sword  up  to  the  very 
hilt  into  its  shoulder,  as  it  roared  aloud.  Tortured 
by  the  grievous  wound,  it  sometimes  raised  itself 
aloft  in  the  air  and  sometimes  plunged  beneath  the 
waves,  wheeling  about  like  a  savage  boar  affrighted 
by  a  pack  of  hounds.  Rising  on  his  wings,  Perseus 
avoided  the  bites  of  the  monster,  and  again  descend- 


PERSEUS.  101 

ing  with  renewed  vigor,  he  wounded  it  with  his  in- 
vincible sword.  Fountains  of  blood  sprang  from  the 
monster's  mouth  and  wet  the  wings  of  Perseus. 
Fearing  to  trust  himself  on  dripping  pinions,  Perseus 
alighted  on  a  rock  which  projected  over  the  water 
and  renewed  the  attack,  thrusting  his  sword  through 
the  entrails  of  the  beast. 

At  this  a  shout  of  applause  arose  from  the  shore, 
a  shout  which  reached  to  the  abode  of  the  gods,  and 
the  king  and  queen  saluted  the  hero  as  their  son-in- 
law  and  the  preserver  of  their  house.  AVhen  Androm- 
eda was  released  from  her  chains  she  walked  along 
the  sand  with  Perseus,  well  pleased  that  she  should 
be  the  reward  as  well  as  the  cause  of  his  labors.  He 
washed  his  hands  in  the  sea-water,  and  to  preserve 
the  Gorgon's  head  and  keep  it  from  doing  mischief 
he  hid  it  under  some  soft  earth,  and  strewed  sea- 
weeds over  it.  The  fresh  weeds,  being  still  alive, 
imbibed  the  poison  and  turned  into  hard  coral.  So 
what  was  a  plant  in  the  sea  became  a  stone  out  of  it. 

Then  Perseus  built  three  altars  out  of  turf,  one  to 
Mercury,  one  to  Minerva,  and  one  to  Jupiter.  On 
these  altars  he  sacrificed  a  cow  to  Minerva,  a  calf  to 
the  wing-footed  Mercury,  and  a  bull  to  the  greatest 
of  the  deities,  Jupiter.  Then  he  took  Andromeda, 
without  any  dowry  as  his  bride.  Hymen  and  Cujaid 
went  before  them  waving  their  torches,  and  fires  were 
heaped  with  perfumes.  Garlands  were  hung  from 
the  houses,  which  resounded  with  the  music  of  Ivres 


102  STORIES  BELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

and  pipes  and  songs.  The  folding-doors  were  thrown 
open  and  gilded  halls  were  displayed,  where  the  king 
and  queen  and  their  nobles  sat  down  with  the  bride 
and  her  husband  to  a  sumptuous  feast.  When  the 
banquet  was  over,  Perseus  began  to  inquire  concern- 
ing the  habits  and  manners  of  the  people  of  that 
country,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  learned  these  things 
the  company  besought  him  that  he  would  tell  his 
adventures  in  obtaining  the  head  of  the  Gorgon  with 
the  snaky  locks.     So  Perseus  began  his  story. 

lie  told  them  that  there  was  a  grotto  situated  under 
the  cold  mountain  of  Atlas  safe  in  its  solid  bulwark. 
At  the  entrance  of  this  cave  there  dwelt  two  sisters, 
who  shared  the  use  of  a  single  eye.  This  eye  they  were 
accustomed  to  shift  from  one  to  the  other.  Once,  Avhile 
it  was  being  handed  over,  he  obtained  possession  of  it 
by  putting  his  hand  in  the  way.  And  though  he  was 
far  from  the  land  of  the  Gorgon s,  and  the  way  was 
rocky  and  pathless  and  over  mountains  bristling  with 
woods  on  their  craggy  sides,  he  had  arrived  safe  at 
the  abode  of  the  monsters,  where  he  saw  stony  figures 
of  men  and  wild  beasts  that  had  been  petrified  at  the 
sight  of  Medusa.  As  he  went  on,  he  saw  in  the  shield 
which  he  bore — a  shield  that  Minerva  had  lent  him 
and  which  rendered  him  invisible — the  reflection  of 
the  image  of  Medusa.  Gazing  into  the  shield  so 
that  he  should  not  look  directly  upon  her  face,  and 
seeing  that  she  was  sound  asleep,  he  took  her  head  off 
from  her  neck  and  flew  hastily  away,  still  rendered 
invisible  by  the  shield  of  Minerva.     As  he  flew,  gory 


PERSEUS.  103 

drops  fell  from  the  severed  neck,  and  two  winged 
horses  sprang  from  them.  When  Perseus  had  related 
these  tales,  one  of  the  nobles  at  the  feast  inquired 
why  it  was  that  Medusa  alone  of  all  the  Gorgons 
wore  snaky  locks,  when  Perseus  replied : 

"  Medusa  was  the  most  famed  for  her  beauty,  daring 
to  compare  her  beautiful  hair  with  that  of  Minerva. 
Having  thus  provoked  the  goddess,  the  daughter  of 
Jove  changed  her  hair  into  hideous  snakes." 

While  the  hero,  the  son  of  Danae,  was  relating 
these  things  in  the  midst  of  the  company,  the  royal 
courts  were  filled  with  a  warlike  multitude.  A 
clamor  arose  unlike  any  that  celebrates  a  marriage- 
feast,  a  clamor  which  portended  dreadful  warfare. 
It  was  as  if  the  banquet  had  suddenly  changed  into  a 
tumult,  or  the  sea,  when  calm,  had  been  disturbed  by 
a  boisterous  wind.  The  leader  of  the  onslaught, 
Phineus,  rushed  forward,  shaking  a  brazen  spear  at 
Perseus  and  crying,  "  Behold,  I  am  come  to  avenge 
the  wrong  done  me !  Thou  hast  deprived  me  of  the 
wife  who  was  promised  me.  Thy  wings  shall  not 
save  thee,  nor  thy  father  Jupiter  deliver  thee  from 
my  power." 

He  hurled  his  lance  at  Perseus,  when  King  Ce- 
pheus  cried  out, "  What  art  thou  doing  ?  What  fancy 
impels  thee,  my  brother,  to  commit  this  crime  ?  Was 
not  Andromeda  bound  to  the  rock  ?  And  thou  didst 
give  her  no  assistance.  It  was  not  Perseus  who  took  her 
away  from  thee,  but  the  angry  daughters  of  Nereus, 
and  the  horned  Ammon,  and  the  monster  of  the  sea." 


104  STOEIES  RELATED  TO  TUE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 

Phineus  gave  no  answer  to  his  brother,  but 
looked  alternately  at  him  and  Perseus,  uncertain 
which  to  attack  first.  At  last  he  hurled  his  spear  at 
Perseus  with  all  the  force  that  rage  could  afford,  but 
it  stood  fixed  in  a  cushion.  Then  Perseus  leapt  off 
from  the  couch,  and  would  have  pierced  the  breast  of 
his  foe  with  the  same  weapon,  thrown  back,  but 
Phineus  had  gone  behind  an  altar  for  protection,  and 
it  was  an  act  of  impiety  against  the  gods  to  attack 
any  suppliant  at  the  shrine.  The  spear  struck  one 
of  the  followers  of  Phineus,  however,  and  slew  him,  at 
which  the  whole  multitude  burst  into  an  ungovernable 
rage  and  hurled  their  weapons  with  indiscriminate  fury. 

Then  came  Minerva,  the  warlike  goddess,  and 
held  before  Perseus  her  shield  of  Invisibility  which 
gave  him  new  courage,  and  he  rushed  on  his  foe, 
striking  right  and  left  with  his  invincible  sword  until 
he  had  slain  more  than  a  hundred  of  them.  Then 
having  regained  the  head  of  Medusa,  he  held  it  up 
where  those  who  were  still  living  might  see  it,  and 
they  began  to  change  into  stone.  The  cowardly 
Phineus,  who  was  still  clinging  to  the  altar,  saw 
statues  varying  in  form  growing  around  him,  and  turn- 
ing away  his  eyes  cried  out  as  a  suppliant,  "  Perseus, 
thou  hast  conquered;  remove  the  dreadful  monster, 
whatever  it  may  be;  take  it  away,  I  pray  thee.  It 
was  not  hatred  that  urged  me  to  make  war,  nor  was 
it  a  desire  for  a  kingdom.  I  was  fighting  to  prevent 
thee  from  taking  my  promised  wife  from  me.     Thy 


PERSEUS.  105 

cause  was  better  than  mine  in  valor,  mine  was  better 
in  point  of  time.  I  am  not  sorry  to  yield  to  thee. 
Grant  me  but  one  boon:  save  my  life;  the  rest  be 
thine." 

To  this  Perseus  replied,  "  Thou  shalt  not  be  hurt 
by  my  weapon,  but  I  will  give  thee  an  everlasting 
monument  which  may  forever  be  seen  in  the  house 
of  my  father-in-law — and  my  wife  may  comfort  her- 
self with  the  form  of  her  betrothed." 

Having  said  this,  Perseus  held  the  head  of  the 
Medusa  where  Phineus  must  gaze  upon  it,  and  he  be- 
came a  statue.  His  timid  features,  his  suppliant 
countenance,  his  hands  hanging  down,  and  his 
cowardly  attitude,  all  were  preserved  in  stone. 

Then  Perseus  went  on  until  he  came  to  the  island 
of  Seriphus,  where  Polydectes  was  king.  While 
Perseus  was  yet  a  babe,  Acrisius  had  set  him  afloat 
on  the  sea  in  a  chest,  together  with  his  mother, 
Danae.  The  chest  floated  on  the  waters  and  was 
carried  here  and  there  until  it  became  entangled  in 
the  net  of  a  fisherman  whose  name  was  Dicte.  The 
fisherman  took  the  castaways  to  his  home  on  the 
island  of  Seriphus  and  treated  them  with  great  kind- 
ness, and  there  they  remained  until  Perseus  had 
grown  up. 

Polydectes,  the  king,  seeing  the  beautiful  Danae, 
loved  her  and  would  have  enslaved  her,  since  he  was 
about  to  marry  Hippodamia.  Fearing  Perseus,  who 
had  grown  to  be  a  strong  youth,  he  sent  him  away 


106  STORIES  BELATED  TO  THE  SIEGFRIED  MYTH. 


from  the  island,  forbidding  liim  ever  to  retnrn  until 
he  could  bring  with  him  the  head  of  the  Medusa. 
Now  when  Perseus  returned,  he  found  his  mother  cling- 
ing with  tears  to  an  altar  for  protection  from  the 
king;  and  there,  too,  was  the  fisherman,  Dicte,  upon 
whom  the  king  intended  to  inflict  some  terrible  pun- 
ishment because  he  had  taken  part  with  the  un- 
fortunate woman.  When  Perseus  came  into  the 
presence  of  Polydectes,  the  king  was  surprised  and 
angry  and  demanded  the  head  of  the  Gorgon,  little 
expecting  that  Perseus  had  brought  it.  "  Have  a 
regard  for  your  eyes,"  said  Perseus  to  the  king,  "  for 
I  will  give  you  proof  that  I  have  indeed  brought  the 
head  which  you  desired;"  and  holding  up  the  frightful 
object,  the  king  at  once  was  changed  into  stone. 

The  Gorgon's  head  having  served  its  purpose,  Per- 
seus gave  it  to  Minerva,  that  she  might  keep  her  foes 
alarmed  with  terror,  and  she  placed  it  upon  her  breast, 
where  she  wore  it  as  a  shield;  but  Danae  became  a 
constellation  in  the  heavens. 


AM^ii^ 


-^■v'^/i^/^ry^^ 


APPENDIX. 


NiBELUNGEN  LiED,  ne'bel-oong'eri  leet  (the  Lay  of  the  Chil- 
dren of  the  Mist).  "A  grand  old  German  poem  which  may 
well  be  compared  with  the  Iliad  of  the  Greeks." — James 
Baldwin. 

Odin,  d'din  (the  All-Father).  Odin  is  chief  of  the  Norse 
gods.  The  word  is  another  form  of  Woden,  and  from  it  is 
derived  our  word  "Wednesday  (Woden's  day).  According 
to  the  solar  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  myths,  Odin  is  the 
life-giving  breath  or  air  of  heaven.  He  is  the  same  as  Zeus 
(zuse)  of  the  Greeks,  and  perhaps  the  Jupiter  of  the  Latins. 
He  is  the  giver  of  rain  and  the  protector  of  sailors.  Two 
ravens,  Thought  and  Memory,  sat  on  his  shoulders  and 
brought  him  news  of  what  was  passing  in  the  world  below. 
A  trace  of  the  worship  of  Odin  survives  to  the  present  day. 
As  a  leader  of  souls  he  corresponds  to  Mercury  or  Hermes. 
Odin  had  one  great  eye  (the  sun)  in  the  middle  of  his  fore- 
head, and  so  is  often  compared  with  Cyclops. 

HoENiR,  hoen'ir  or  hd'nir  (light).  Hoenir  was  one  of  the 
three  most  ancient  gods.  He  rejoiced  in  illuminating  the 
soul  with  understanding. 

LoKi,  Id'hee  (heat).  Loki  is  the  god  of  mischief  or  evil. 
He  is  father  of  the  death-goddess  Hela,  of  the  Fends  wolf, 
"  the  bane  of  the  moon,"  and  the  great  mid-gard  worm  or 
snake  which  encircles  the  earth.  Thus  he  is  the  parent  of 
death  in  all  its  guises.  He  pervades  all  nature,  is  the  sym- 
bol of  sin,  cunning,  treachery,  and  malice. 

107 


108  APPENDIX. 

RODMAE,  rod'mar.  The  father  of  Fafnir,  Regin,  and 
Otter. 

Regin,  re'gin.  The  cunning  blacksmith,  teacher  of 
Siegfried.  One  of  that  class  of  beings  who  give  vigor  and 
warmth  to  living  things. 

Fafnir,  fafnir.  A  dragon  which  Siegfried  slays. 
Fafnir  is  simply  darkness  or  cold,  the  negation  of  life  and 
light.  He  is  probably  the  same  monster  as  the  Python  of 
Greek  mythology.  Fafnir  is  the  worm  or  serpent  which 
guards  the  golden  treasures;  in  other  words,  the  golden  sun- 
light with  its  gladdening  and  revivifying  powers.  Fafnir  is 
the  cloud  or  darkness  which  steals  the  light.  The  name 
dragon  denotes  anything  keen-sighted.  Fafnir  is,  how- 
ever, a  serpent  of  darkness. 

Andvari,  ahnd-vah'ree  (cautious  or  wary  spirit).  A 
dwarf  who  guarded  the  great  Hoard  or  Rhine-gold. 

Siegfried  or  Sigurd,  seeg freed,  see'gurd  (the  sunbeam). 
The  hero  of  the  Nibelungen  stories.  He  is  often  called  the 
"Northern  Achilles,"  being,  like  that  hero,  invulnerable 
except  in  one  spot.  Achilles  dies  by  an  arrow- wound  in  the 
heel,  Siegfried  by  a  wound  in  the  shoulder.  Siegfried  cor- 
responds also  to  the  Greek  Apollo,  the  sun-god.  The  wintry 
sleep  of  nature  is  symbolized  by  Brunhilda.  The  kiss  of 
Siegfried  is  the  revivifying  power  of  the  sun  which  awakens 
the  earth  in  springtime  ;  it  is  the  overcoming  of  frost  or 
winter  by  the  sun's  force.  His  golden  locks  are  the  sun's 
rays.  He  slays  Fafnir,  the  power  of  cold  or  darkness, 
which  keeps  the  golden  treasures,  earth's  products,  se- 
creted. 

Brunhilda,  hroon-hil' da  (the  maid  of  Spring).  She  an- 
swers to  the  "Sleeping  Beauty"  of  the  Germans,  and  to 
the  Persephone  of  Greek  mythology.  Her  sleep  is  the 
sleep  of  earth  in  winter;  her  power  is  the  power  of  spring, 
which  enables  the  earth  to  burst  from  the  icy  fetters  of  cold 


APPENDIX.  109 

and  darkness.  She  is  conquered  by  Siegfried  as  the  earth 
yields  to  the  power  of  sunlight. 

Valhalla,  val-hal'la  (the  Hall  of  the  Slain).  The  house 
of  Odin  where  he  dwells  with  all  the  gods. 

Gladsheim,  glads'hime.  A  hall  in  Valhalla  correspond- 
ing to  the  Elysian  Fields  of  the  Greeks. 

IsENLAND.  "  Probably  upper  Yssel,"  a  geographic  myth. 
In  the  Elder  Edda  the  inaccessible  hall  of  Brunhilda  is  "  on 
an  island  far  over  the  sea." 

Utie,  oo'tee.     The  mother  of  Kriemhilda. 

Kriemhilda,  or  Chriemhild,  kreem'hil-da.  She  is  the 
same  as  Gudrun  or  Grimhilda. 

Dankrath,  dahnk'rahth.     The  father  of  Siegfried. 

Hageh,  hah'gen  (prickly  thorn).  "  A  descendant  of  the 
power  of  darkness."  The  slayer  of  Siegfried.  The  power 
of  winter  to  overcome  summer. 

Balmung,  hal'moong.  Also  called  Gram  (the  Wrath). 
The  invincible  sword  of  Siegfried.  It  answers  to  the  spear 
of  Achilles,  the  sword  of  Perseus,  the  sword  Excalibur  of 
King  Arthur,  the  arrow  of  William  Tell,  and  the  arrow  of 
Philoctetes.  They  are  all  solar  weapons,  the  all-penetrat- 
ing rays  of  the  sun. 

Valkyr,  val'kijr.  One  of  the  twelve  nymphs  of  Val- 
halla. She  was  armed  and  mounted  on  a  swift  horse,  and 
hovered  over  the  field  of  battle  to  lead  the  soul  of  the  slain 
hero  to  Valhalla. 

Proserpine  or  Persephone,  pro-ser'2yl-ne,per-seph'o-ne. 
The  goddess  of  the  Spring.  "As  Demeter  is  the  earth, 
which  is  full  of  mineral  treasures  as  well  as  of  fruit-giving 
seeds,  the  idea  of  wealth  was  connected  with  her  name,  and 
the  loss  of  Proserpine  was  the  taking  away  of  her  treasures. 
So  in  the  Norse  tales,  the  Niflungs  (Nibelungs,  or  the  chil- 
dren of  the  mist)  hide  away  the  treasures  of  the  earth,  un- 
til they  are  compelled  to  yield  them  up  again  by  one  to 


110  APPENDIX. 

wiuim  they  must  submit,  as  Hades  submits  to  the  bidding 
of  Hermes." 

Ceres  or  Demeter,  see'res,  de-me'te?:  A  daughter  of 
Saturn  the  goddess  of  corn  and  tillage. 

Pluto,  plu'to.  Pluto  is  a  Greek  name  for  Hades 
{liadez)  as  the  guardian  of  the  hidden  treasures  of  the 
earth.  He  corresponds  to  the  dwarf  Andvari,  who  guards 
the  treasure  in  the  story  of  Siegfried. 

Oupin,  on'pid.  The  son  of  Venus  and  god  of  love.  The 
story  of  Cupid  and  Pysche  is  well  lold  by  Walter  Pater  in 
his  volume  Marius  the  Epicurean. 

Venus  or  Aphrodite,  ve'nus,  aph-ro-di'te.  Hesiod  re- 
lates that  Venus  was  born  in  the  sea.  The  word  Aphrodite 
means  "  risen  from  sea-foam."  Venus  w'as  the  goddess  of 
love.     In  some  respects  she  corresponds  to  Demeter. 

Jupiter  or  Zeus,  ja'pi-tet\  zuse.  The  supreme  deity  of 
the  Greeks;  the  son  of  Saturn.  "As  the  Hindus  spoke 
of  Dyaus-pitar,  and  the  Greeks  of  Zeus  Pater,  so  the  Latins 
and  Romans  called  him  Jupiter,  which  means  father  Zeus. 
By  the  Anglo-Saxons  he  was  called  Tin  (a  word  which  is 
still  seen  in  our  Tuesday)."— Prof.  Cox. 

Triptolemus,  trip-tol'e-mus.  The  god  of  agriculture. 
He  taught  men  how  to  sow  and  how  to  utilize  grain. 

Fa(EBVS,  fee'bas  (bright,  pure).  A  name  for  Apollo — god 
of  the  sun.     Often  used  to  signify  the  sun. 

Apollo,  a-pol'lo  (to  destroy).  He  was  the  god  of  arch- 
ery, music,  prophecy,  and  medicine. 

Parnassus,  par-nas'sus.  A  mountain  in  Greece  to  the 
northwest  of  Athens.  There  was  a  temple  to  Apollo  on  the 
mountain,  and  it  was  said  to  have  been  the  home  of  the 
Muses. 

Python,  py'thon.  "  The  great  dragon  or  snake  which 
appears  in  all  solar  legends.  It  is  the  snake  that  Apollo 
kills,  and  the  dragon  Fafnir  of  the  glistening  heath  in  the 
tale  of  Siegfried."— Cox. 


APPENDIX.  Ill 

AcRisius,  a-cris'i-us. 

Perseus,  per'suse  or  per'se-us. 

Danae,  dan'a-e. 

Andromeda,  an-drom'e-da. 

Ammon,  am' 111071.  "Jupiter,  with  the  surname  of 
Ammon,  had  a  temple  in  the  desert  of  Libya,  where  he  was 
worshiped  under  tlie  sliape  of  a  rain."  Jupiter  Ammon 
decreed  that  Andromeda  shoukl  be  devoured  by  a  monster 
sent  against  the  Ethiopians  by  Nereus. 

Medusa,  me-du'sa.  The  youngest  and  most  beautiful 
of  the  three  Gorgons.  Her  face  was  terrible  to  behold  and 
was  surrounded  by  snakes.  The  Gorgons  were  all  described 
by  the  ancients  as  horrid  aged  women. 

Phineus,  phi'nuse  or  phin'e-us. 

PoLYDECTES,  pol-y-dec'tez. 

DiCTE,  dic'te. 

The  Cup  of  Enchantment — In  Chapter  III.  it  is  men- 
tioned that  Siegfried  deserts  Brunhilda  and  forgets  her 
because  he  is  under  an  enchantment.  In  this  I  have  fol- 
lowed Wagner's  version  as  found  in  his  opera  "  The  Twilight 
of  the  Gods."  It  is  an  important  point  if  we  consider  Sieg- 
fried's character  from  the  humane  and  human  rather  than 
from  the  mythical  and  poetic  standpoint.  It  is  the  only  way 
to  justify  him  to  our  reason  and  sense  of  propriety  and  ]et 
him  remain  a  great  hero  to  us.  Wagner  took  this  interpre- 
tation from  the  Thidrek  Saga,  an  early  northern  tradition. 
According  to  this  Saga,  Hagen  is  the  son  of  Alberich,  the 
dwarf  who  owned  the  hoard.  His  intention  is  to  have  his 
father  regain  the  gold.  Hence  Hagen's  spite  against  Sieg- 
fried who  has  won  the  treasure.  Hagen  leads  Gunther  to 
proffer  the  cup  of  enchantment  to  Siegfried  in  order  that 
he  shall  forget  Brunhilda,  so  that  the  more  powerful  knight 
shall  help  him  to  win  Brunhilda  for  himself.  The  cup  is 
given  to  Kriemhilda,  who  presents  it  to  Siegfried,  and  imme- 
diately he  loves  the  maiden  who  gives  him  the  draught. 


112  APPENDIX. 

There  is  still  another  version — that  Utie,  the  mother  of 
Kriemhilda,  is  the  one  who  proffers  Siegfried  the  cup  of  en 
chantment,  and  she  does  it  in  the  interest  of  her  daughter. 
The  cup  of  enchantment,  when  looked  at  from  the  poetic 
and  mythical  side,  means  the  power  which  compels  the  rays 
of  the  sun  to  seek  the  fertile  valleys.  Kriemhilda  is,  doubt- 
less, in  a  mythical  sense  an  earth-goddess  ;  she  typifies  the 
beauty  and  fertility  of  lands  lying  farther  to  the  south  and 
near  river-banks.  Brunhilda  is  fiercer  and  more  northern. 
In  all  solar  legends  the  hero  deserts  his  bride  and  pursues 
another,  just  as  the  sun  pursues  one  day  and  sets,  only  to 
rise  again  and  pursue  another.  No  one  pretends  to  justify 
the  sun  for  his  fickleness  in  shining  brightly  first  on  one 
day  and  then  on  another.  He  has  tasted  of  the  cup  of 
enchantment — is  under  the  law  of  gravitation. 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NIBELUNGEN  LIED  THROUGH 
RICHARD  WAGNER. 

In  every  great  century  known  to  history  there  has  been 
some  wonderful  visitation  of  genius  to  society,  a  genius 
which  has  left  all  the  beaten  paths  and  led  the  thoughts  of 
the  people  in  a  direction  wholly  uulooked  for.  It  is  more 
marvelous  than  a  dream  that  in  an  age  which  prides  it- 
self on  its  inventions,  its  materialism,  its  physicality,  a 
great  poem,  for  centuries  almost  forgotten,  should  come 
forth  like  a  world-spirit,  from  its  abiding-place  in  the 
libraries  of  antiquarians,  and  through  the  lips  of  a  poet  and 
musician  assert  its  right  to  overturn  the  table  of  the  money- 
changers and  purify  the  temples.  Such  has  been  the  des- 
tiny of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  in  Germany  and  in  all  civilized 
countries. 

Richard  "Wagner,  the  poet,  artist,  and  musician,  whose 
mission  it  was  to  be  the  medium  through  whom  the  Nibe- 


APPENDIX.  113 

lungen  Lied  should  once  more  sway  the  hearts  of  men  and 
elevate  their  lives,  was  born  at  Leipsic,  May  23,  1813. 

"His  father,"  says  George  P.  Upton  in  his  Biographies 
of  the  Musicians,  "was  superintendent  of  police,  a  post 
which,  owing  to  the  constant  movement  of  troops  during 
the  French  war,  was  one  of  special  importance.  He  soon 
fell  a  victim  to  an  epidemic  which  broke  out  among  the 
troops  passing  through.  The  mother,  a  woman  of  a  very 
refined  and  spiritual  nature,  then  married  the  highly  gifted 
actor,  Ludwig  Geyer,  who  had  been  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  family,  and  removed  with  him  to  Dresden,  where  he 
held  a  position  at  the  court  theater  and  was  highly  esteemed. 
There  Wagner  spent  his  childhood  and  early  youth.  Be- 
sides the  great  patriotic  uprisings  of  the  German  people, 

artistic  impressions  were  the  first  to  stir  his  soul 

The  step-father,  during  a  sickness  which  overtook  him, 
heard  Richard  play  two  melodies.  The  boy  heard  him  say 
in  an  undertone  :  '  Can  it  be  that  he  has  a  talent  for  music  ?' 
He  had  destined  him  to  be  an  artist,  being  himself  as  good 
a  painter  as  he  was  an  actor.  He  died,  however,  before  the 
boy  had  reached  his  seventh  year,  bequeathing  to  him  only 
the  information  imparted  to  his  mother,  that  he  '  would 
have  made  something  of  him.'  Wagner  in  the  first  sketch 
of  his  life  relates  that  for  a  long  time  he  dwelt  upon 
this  utterance  of  his  step-father;  and  that  it  impelled  him 
to  aspire  for  greatness.  .  .  .  The  study  of  Greek,  Latin, 
mythology,  and  ancient  history  so  completely  captivated 
the  active  mind  of  the  boy  that  his  teacher  advised  him 
seriously  to  devote  himself  to  philological  studies.  As  he 
had  played  music  by  imitation,  so  he  now  tried  to  imitate 
poetry,  A  poem,  dedicated  to  a  dead  school-mate,  even 
won  a  prize.  .  .  .  His  richness  of  imagination  and  feel- 
ing displayed  itself  in  early  youth.  In  his  eleventh  year  he 
would  be  a  poet  I  A  Saxon  poet,  Apel,  imitated  the  Greek 
tragedies,  why  should  he  not  do  the  same  ?    He  had  already 


114  APPENDIX. 

translated  the  first  twelve  books  of  Homer's  Odyssey,  and 
had  made  a  metrical  version  of  Romeo's  monologue,  after 
having,  simply  to  understand  Shakespeare,  thoroughly  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  English."  Mr.  Upton  proceeds  to 
tell  us  of  a  grand  tragedy  based  on  Hamlet  and  King  Lear 
which  the  boy  undertook  to  write,  killing  off  forty-two  of 
his  characters  in  the  progress  of  the  play,  so  that  he  was 
obliged  for  want  of  persons  to  let  their  ghosts  appear ;  and 
that  this  absurd  attempt  at  poetry  led  him  to  music,  where 
he  learned  to  appreciate  the  seriousness  of  art.  He  re- 
solved to  become  a  musician,  and  under  the  influence  of  the 
symphonies  of  Beethoven  composed  both  music  and  poetry. 
Passing  over  his  early  life  and  work,  the  composition  of 
"  Rienzi "  and  "  Lohengrin,"  his  marriage  to  Minna  Planer, 
and  his  struggles  with  poverty,  we  find  him  in  the  midst 
of  political  entanglements. 

Wagner  gave  an  address  to  a  political  club  in  Di'esden,  a 
speech  which  was  mild  in  tone  but  nevertheless  provoked 
the  police  authorities  to  give  him  a  reprimand.  Having 
heard  that  they  had  issued  a  warrant  for  his  arrest,  he  re- 
tired to  Weimar,  where  his  friend,  the  musician  Liszt,  lived, 
and  the  great  composer  welcomed  him,  and,  hearing  that  his 
arrest  was  ordered  to  take  effect  at  once,  escorted  him  part 
way  to  Paris.  Wagner  hoped  to  find  recognition  in  France 
for  his  work,  but  failing  to  do  so  went  to  Switzerland, 
where,  amid  the  lakes  and  forests  of  the  land  of  William 
Tell,  he  composed  his  greatest  works. 

Wagner's  musical  creed  was  that  the  great  musical  error 
of  the  world  consisted  in  the  fact  that  music,  which  was  a 
mere  mode  or  form  of  expression,  had  become  the  end, 
while  the  end  of  expression,  the  drama,  had  been  made 
the  means. 

The  drama  itself  had  been  of  no  interest  to  the  audience. 
People  had  formed  the  habit  of  going  to  hear  certain  tunes 
or  melodies,  solos  or  duets. 


APPENDIX.  115 

Wagner  taught  that  the  theme,  the  great  idea  in  the 
drama,  itself  should  be  the  center  of  interest,  and  that  it 
should  be  national  in  its  character  and  should  be  based 
upon  and  identified  with  the  history  of  the  people — that  part 
of  their  history  which  had  been  most  poetic  and  ennobling. 
The  music  itself  should  spring  from  the  requirements  of  the 
text  and  should  explain  and  reinforce  it.  His  desire  was  to 
redeem  the  stage,  to  force  it  to  leave  its  triviality  and  teach 
the  people  only  what  was  great  and  sincere. 

Among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland  he  was  still  in  the 
depths  of  poverty,  but  he  turned  his  thoughts  continually 
upon  the  riches  of  ancient  legend  and  history  and  worked 
to  build  up  a  national  art. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  he  recognized  in  the  story  of 
Siegfried  more  than  its  human  and  heroic  side,  namely,  its 
development  from  the  solar  phenomena  ;  for  he  says,  in  re- 
lation to  it,  ' '  Man  received  his  first  impressions  from  sur- 
rounding nature,  and  in  it  no  effect  is  so  strong  as  that  of 
light." 

"  Thus  he  begins,"  says  Mr.  Upton,  "  the  '  Nibelungen' 
of  1850. 

"  The  day,  the  sun,  appears  as  the  very  condition  of  life. 
Praise  and  adoration  are  bestowed  upon  it  in  contrast  with 
the  dark  night  which  breeds  terror.  Thus  light  becomes 
the  cause  of  all  existence,  Father,  God.  The  daybreak 
appears  as  the  victory  of  light,  and  naturally  there  grow 
out  of  it  at  last  moral  impressions.  This  influence  of 
nature  is  the  foundation  of  their  conceptions  of  divinity, 
the  division  into  distinct  religions  depending  upon  the 
character  of  different  tribes.  The  tribal  traditions  of  the 
Franks,  as  the  noblest  type  of  Germans,  has  the  advantage 
of  a  steady  development  from  its  ancient  origin  into  his- 
toric life.  ...  As  the  day  surrenders  to  the  night  and 
summer  is  followed  by  winter,  so  Siegfried  finally  is  con- 
quered and  the  god  is  changed  to  mortal  man.     Now  that 


116  APPENDIX. 

he  has  fallen,  he  kindles  in  the  human  heart  a  deeper 
sympathy." 

Wagner's  literary  ability  ;  his  innate  delicacy  and  exqui- 
site sensibilities  ;  his  love  for  the  Nibelungen  ;  his  faith  in 
art,  and  his  struggles  to  render  it  worthy  of  Germany  in 
spite  of  his  poverty  ;  his  hopes,  disappointments,  and  vic- 
tories, are  all  portrayed  in  his  letters  to  his  most  faithful 
friend,  Liszt. 

He  says  :  ' '  The  '  Rhinegold  '  is  done,  but  I  also  am  done 
for.  ...  It  is  with  genuine  despair  that  I  always  re- 
sume art ;  if  I  am  to  do  this,  if  I  am  to  dive  into  the  waves 
of  artistic  fancy  in  order  to  find  contentment  in  a  world  of 
imagination,  my  fancy  should  at  least  be  buoyed  up,  my 
imagination  suj^ported.  I  cannot  live  like  a  dog;  I  cannot 
sleep  on  straw  and  drink  bad  whiskey.  I  must  be  coaxed 
in  one  way  or  another  if  my  mind  is  to  accomplish  the  ter- 
ribly difficult  task  of  creating  a  non-existing  world.  .  ,  . 
If  I  am  to  regain  the  faculty  of  holding  out,  something 
must  be  done  in  the  direction  of  sustaining  my  art;  before 
all,  I  must  have  money." 

"  Dearest  friend,  this  suffering  is  becoming  at  last  intol- 
erable. Always  to  submit  to  things,  never,  even  at  the 
risk  of  one's  own  perdition,  to  give  a  turn  to  the  wheel  of 
suffering  and  to  determine  its  direction — that  must  at  last 
arouse  the  meekest  of  men  to  revolt,  I  must  now  act,  do 
something.  Again  and  again  the  thought  comes  to  me  of 
retiring  to  some  distant  corner  of  the  world,  although  I 
know  full  well  that  this  would  mean  only  flight,  not  the 
conquest  of  a  new  life,  for  I  am  too  lonely.  But  I  must  at 
least  begin  something  that  will  make  my  life,  such  as  it  is, 
sufficiently  tolerable  to  enable  me  to  devote  myself  to  the 
execution  and  completion  of  my  work,  which  alone  can 
divert  my  thoughts  and  give  me  comfort.  While  here  I 
chew  a  beggar's  crust,  I  hear  from  Boston  that  '  Wagner 
nights '  are  given  there.     Every  one  persuades  me  to  come 


APPENDIX.  117 

over  ;  they  are  occupying  themselves  with  me  with  increas- 
ing interest ;  I  might  make  much  money  there.  '  Make 
much  money  ! '  Heavens  !  I  don't  want  to  make  money 
if  I  can  only  go  the  way  shown  me  by  art.  My  work  is 
truly  the  only  thing  which  still  ties  me  to  the  desire  of  life. 
When  I  think  of  sacrifices  and  demand  sacrifices,  it  is  for 
this  work;  in  it  alone  I  discover  an  object  of  my  life.  For 
its  sake  I  must  hold  out  here,  where  I  have  got  a  foothold 
and  have  settled  down  to  work.  ...  So  I  sit  down 
again,  cross  my  arms,  and  surrender  myself  to  pure,  unal- 
loyed suffering.  I  can  do  nothing  except  create  my  Nibe- 
lungen;  and  even  that  I  am  unable  to  do  without  great 
and  energetic  help.  .  .  .  We  do  not  respect  the  world. 
Its  honor,  its  glory,  or  by  whatever  name  its  shams  may  be 
called,  are  nothing  to  us.  It  belongs  to  Alberich,  to  no  one 
else.  .  .  .  For  the  sake  of  that  most  beautiful  of  my 
life-dreams.  Young  Siegfried,  I  shall  have  to  finish  the 
Nibelungen  pieces." 

Ki chard  Wagner  died  on  the  13th  of  February,  1883, 
having  not  only  finished  "the  Nibelungen  pieces,"  but 
having  seen  them  successfully  put  upon  the  stage.  As  his 
body  was  conveyed  along  the  Grand  Canal  to  Bayreuth,  the 
magnificent  funeral-march  from  Siegfried  was  performed 
while  a  vast  multitude  of  people  moved  in  solemn  proces- 
sion. "Not  only  the  German  people,  the  German  nation, 
the  whole  world  mourns  to-day  by  the  coffin  of  one  of  its 
greatest  sons,"  were  the  words  of  a  director  to  his  audience 
at  Aachen  when  the  news  of  Wagner's  death  reached  them. 

"The  Nibelungen  pieces"  are  indeed  finished  and  the 
master  is  at  rest.  But  the  music  and  the  poem  sweep  on, 
gathering  in  strength  and  power.  At  Bayreuth,  a  little 
town  in  Bavaria,  in  the  southern  part  of  Germany,  a 
magnificent  theater  was  erected  in  1876  at  a  cost  of  300,000 
thalers  (about  $225,000),  under  the  direction  of  Wagner 
himself  and  through  the  patronage  of  the  king  of  Bavaria. 


118  APPENDIX. 

Here  great  "  Wagner  festivals  "  are  held  as  often  as  once 
in  four  years  under  the  supervision  of  Frau  Wagner,  tho 
second  vsrife  of  the  great  musician,  also  the  daughter  of 
Liszt.  A  few  notes  from  the  New  York  Evening  Post 
written  by  a  traveler  in  Germany  who  attended  the  festival 
in  August,  1891,  will  be  of  interest,  since  they  give  a  graphic 
idea  of  the  extent  of  Wagner's  influence. 

"  Apart  from  all  considerations  regarding  the  refined 
pleasure  and  entertainment  given  by  works  of  art,  creative 
genius  has  a  '  practical '  value  which  our  economists  have 
not  perhaps  sufficiently  considered.  Take  the  case  of 
Richard  Wagner,  who  for  more  than  forty  years  was  abused, 
slandered,  misrepresented,  and  hunted  down  like  a  wild 
beast  by  his  countrymen,  and  see  what  he  has  done  for 
them.  During  the  past  year  883  performances  of  his  operas 
were  given  in  79  German  cities,  the  list  being  headed  by 
Berlin  (64),  Munich  (54),  Dresden  (51),  Vienna  (48),  Ham- 
burg (40),  Bremen  (39).  Think  of  all  the  vast  sums 
these  performances  brought  into  the  pockets  of  managers 
(who  could  not  exist  to-day  without  Wagner),  of  singers, 
players,  costumers,  scene-painters,  photographers,  printers  ; 
think  of  all  the  innumerable  ramifications  of  trade  con- 
nected with  such  a  complex  organization  as  an  opera-house, 
and  you  must  admit  that  Wagner  was  a  national  benefactor 
of  the  first  order,  altogether  apart  from  the  value  of  his 
works  and  the  great  name  added  to  the  nation's  legion  of 
honor,  which  the  Germans  repudiated  as  long  as  possible, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  other  nations  who  are  proud  of 
their  men  of  genius  and  do  not  either  ignore  them  during 
lifetime,  or,  if  they  protest  against  such  treatment,  try  to 
club  them  into  submission  and  silence. 

"The  little  Bavarian  town  of  Bayreuth  is  notable,  not 
only  as  the  place  where  Wagner's  operas  are  given  most 
conscientiously  just  as  their  author  intended  them  to  be 
given,  but  as  the  place  where  the  practical  value  of  operatic 


APPENDIX.  119 

genius  is  made  most  evident.  The  fine  buildings  erected 
by  the  brother-in-law  of  Frederick  the  Great  more  than  a 
century  ago  were  growing  gray  with  age,  and  no  one  ever 
looked  on  them  but  the  sleepy,  stagnant  population  of  the 
town  itself  till  1876,  when  "Wagner  brought  royalty,  genius 
talent,  curiosity,  and  envy  to  the  place  to  hear  his  Nibe- 
lung  Tetralogy,  in  a  theater  specially  built  for  the  purpose. 

"  In  many  ways  they  have  made  great  progress  since 
1876.  The  money  which  then  flowed  into  the  local  coffers 
encouraged  the  magistrates  to  build  the  very  next  year  a 
fine  system  of  water-works  at  considerable  expense,  thus 
adding  much  to  the  comfort  and  security  of  tourists.  Many 
new  houses  have  been  built,  streets  improved  and  named 
after  Wagner  and  his  operas,  and  there  is  that  general  evi- 
dence of  prosperity  which  comes  with  ihe  influx  of  about 
2,000,000  marks  every  other  year  (apart  from  the  prices  paid 
for  tickets),  which  is  .not  a  small  sum  for  a  town  of  25,000. 
In  1876  the  population  was  only  about  20,000,  and  this  rapid 
increase,  after  a  century  of  stagnation,  is  entirely  due  to 
the  Wagner  festivals." 

All  through  that  part  of  his  life  when  the  struggle  was 
hardest,  Wagner  had  to  bear  the  malicious  spite  of  petty 
editors  and  journalists  who  were  bought  wy)  by  the  musi- 
cian's jealous  competitors  for  musical  fame.  But  he  out- 
lived the  ignominy,  the  scandals,  the  contempt,  and  left  the 
world  to  contemplate  in  him  a  character 

"TOO  HIGH  FOR  RIVALRY." 


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